Deputy Charlie McConalogue has said that Minister Eoghan Murphy must publish the long-awaited report on the review of the Tenants’ Purchase Scheme.
The scheme allows council tenants to enter into an agreement to purchase their home from the local authority over a period of time.
Deputy McConalogue said “On the re-introduction of the Tenant Purchase Scheme in 2016, it was quickly found that a number of people were barred from entering into an agreement due to the rigidness of the terms & conditions.
“Many of these people are pensioners, who have acquired life-long savings, but are excluded from the scheme because their sole income is their pension. Because of the difficulties, it was confirmed that a full review would take place of the scheme in 2017.
“Former Minister Simon Coveney had previously confirmed that the report would be published by the end of Quarter 1 of 2017 however, since then, his successor Minister Eoghan Murphy has confirmed in a series of Parliamentary Questions that the report is complete and will be published ‘shortly’.”
Deputy McConalogue added the Minister’s definition of ‘shortly’ is obviously quite flexible as we are now approaching 2 years awaiting this report given the initial commitment from former Minister Coveney.
“Those who demonstrate the ability to pay, should be afforded the opportunity to purchase their home if they so wish and the Minister needs to stop blocking the publication of this report. I will continue to pursue this with the Minister on the behalf of all those who have a valid and justifiable interest in owning their own home,” concluded Deputy McConalogue.
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