Housing (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act, 1979

Subsidies by Minister for houses provided by housing authorities for letting.

10.—(1) (a) The Minister may, in respect of the period commencing on the 1st day of April, 1973, and ending on the 31st day of December, 1976, with the consent of the Minister for Finance, pay, out of moneys provided by the Oireachtas, a subsidy of such amount as he may determine towards the expenditure incurred by a housing authority in respect of—

(i) moneys borrowed by the authority for the provision of a house for letting in respect of which a grant under section 15 of the Principal Act has not been paid, and

(ii) the maintenance, management and improvement of such a house.

(b) A subsidy under this subsection shall be subject to such conditions, if any, as the Minister may specify and, without prejudice to the generality of the foregoing, the conditions may include conditions relating to rent, purchase of the house concerned, standards of construction, contributions from the housing authority concerned towards the expenditure involved and expenditure on the maintenance, management and improvement of the house concerned.

(2) The Minister may, in respect of the financial year 1977 and subsequent financial years, with the consent of the Minister for Finance and subject to such regulations as may be made by the Minister for the purposes of this section, pay to a housing authority, out of moneys provided by the Oireachtas, a subsidy not exceeding an amount equal to the amount of the annual loan charges incurred by the authority in respect of—

(a) the provision of a house for letting and ancillary works in relation to such a house,

(b) the acquisition of land for the purposes of the provision by the authority of houses for letting by the authority, and

(c) works carried out in relation to completed houses provided under section 56 of the Principal Act, being works which, having regard to the exceptional circumstances requiring them, were approved of by the Minister on or before the 31st day of December, 1977.

(3) Regulations under this section may, in particular, but without prejudice to the generality of subsection (2) of this section, make provision in relation to all or any one or more of the following matters:

(a) the rent of the house concerned,

(b) the purchase of the house and the application by the housing authority of the proceeds of such a purchase,

(c) contributions towards the expenditure concerned from the housing authority,

(d) expenditure on the maintenance, management and improvement of the house, and

(e) requirements in relation to the payment of any other grant or subsidy in respect of the house under any enactment (including this Act).

(4) A subsidy shall not be paid under this section unless the house or works the subject of the subsidy complies or comply on completion with such conditions, if any, as may be determined by the Minister from time to time for the purposes of this section in relation to standards of construction of houses and of works and the provision of water, sewerage and other services in houses.

(5) A subsidy under subsection (2) of this section may, with the consent of the Minister for Finance, be made either to the housing authority concerned or to the person who made the loan in respect of which the loan charges concerned were incurred.

(6) The Commissioners of Public Works in Ireland may, with the consent of the Minister for Finance, write off moneys payable to the Commissioners by housing authorities in respect of loans made by the Commissioners to the authorities for the purpose of the provision of houses.