Irish Times* Tuesday, 10 February 2015 Page: 8
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' to social housing tenants OLIVIA KELLY
thorities since the 1930s, with a were flooded with houses, the national scheme for the sale of housing issue would be solved, The Government should not council houses in place since but also it could do exactly the sell off “the familysilver” by giving1973 giving buyers a percentage opposite - exacerbate the problem local authority tenants discounts discount for each year of by building the wrong houses to buy homes, the head their tenancy. in the wrong places,” he told of policy with Ireland’s largest The most recent scheme, the conference. housing association has said. which had been in force since There was a need he said for At a joint Department of the 1995, came to an end in December“empirical data, based on research”, Environment-Royal Institute 2012. to determine what of the Architects of Ireland The Government’s Social housing was needed, what housing conference, head of Housing Strategy 2020, published space was available, what policywith Cluid Simon Brooke last November, includes should be built, and where it said he supported the principle a commitment to introduce a should be built, rather than relying of tenants being able to buy new scheme this year. Minister on the cyclicalnature of the their homes. He said that for the Environment Alan Kelly housing market. homes built by the State to has yet to publish the details house people who could not afford but said it would involve discounts to live in homes rented on for buyers. the private market should not be sold off cheaply however. Tenantdiscounts “I would appeal to the Minister Utter madness he decides what form the “I think it’s fundamentally when new tenant purchase is going to wrong that tenant purchase take that he doesn’t include tenant schemes should exist at a discount. discounts,” Mr Brooke said. It is the Government selling RIAI president Robin Mandal offthe familysilver... It’sutter warned against “short-term madness,” he said. fix” solutions to the housing crisis. Tenants of council houses have been able to buy their “Not only is it too simplistic homes from individual local au- to believe that if the market