Catherine Murphy (Kildare North, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I move amendment No. 11:
In page 37, between lines 10 and 11, to insert the following:

"(4) A housing authority shall ensure that, unless otherwise directed by resolution of the elected members of the local authority to which the housing authority is subject, 100 per cent of the proceeds garnered from the sale of a house under this Part shall be retained by the local authority for the specific purpose of providing further accommodation.".

My amendment seeks to have 100% of the funds generated by the sale of local authority houses retained in order to build new houses. The argument that people should be able to buy houses should not be made at the expense of an ongoing turnover of housing stock that is available to other people. We have seen over the years that due to the sale of local authority houses, the turnover across the lifetime of a house is reduced. My amendment is the only way I can see of protecting the housing stock while at the same time providing housing stock from the funds generated by sales.