Fine Gael Meath East TD, Regina Doherty, has welcomed confirmation that the Government is preparing legislation to replace the Tenant Purchase Scheme, which expired at the end of last year.

The Minister for Housing, Jan O'Sullivan TD, has confirmed that the provisions of a new Housing Bill will enable local authority tenants to purchase their homes, and the Taoiseach, Enda Kenny TD, has said that the legislation may come to Cabinet before the end of this year.

"This news will be strongly welcomed by local authority tenants who are hoping to buy their homes and who have been left in limbo since the Tenant Purchase Scheme, which expired at the end of 2012.

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"I understand that the new legislation will underpin a new tenant purchase scheme for existing local authority houses along incremental purchase lines, involving discounts for purchasing tenants linked to household income and a discount-related charge on the property that will dwindle away over a period, unless the house is resold or the purchaser fails to comply with conditions of the sale. The commencement date for the new scheme will be set out in the Bill.

"Most of us would aspire to buy our own homes, rather than pay rent for years on end. The option of buying their homes should be made available to local authority tenants as widely as possible. In this way, tenants can progress to become homeowners, allowing them to establish strong roots in their local community."

(CD/JP)