Housing Act, 1966

Grants by Minister for provision of prototype houses.

20.—(1) The Minister may, 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, make, out of moneys provided by the Oireachtas, a grant to any person or body in respect of the erection of a house in accordance with plans and specifications approved by the Minister if the Minister is satisfied—

(a) that a house has not previously been erected in accordance with the plans and specifications aforesaid or plans or specifications that are substantially the same as the plans and specifications aforesaid, and

(b) that houses could be erected in accordance with the plans and specifications aforesaid either with greater speed than if they were erected by conventional methods, or at low cost, or that houses erected in accordance with the plans and specifications aforesaid, being houses of a type suitable for erection by a housing authority, could conveniently be transferred and erected on another site.

(2) A grant under this section shall not exceed one-half of the amount estimated by the Minister to be the reasonable cost of erection of the house.

(3) A grant may be paid under this Act (apart from this section) in respect of any further house erected with the approval of the Minister in accordance with plans and specifications that are the same as the plans and specifications of a house in respect of which a grant was made under this section or that differ from those plans and specifications only in respect of modifications approved of by the Minister, notwithstanding the fact that the house is not in compliance with any regulations made by the Minister for the purposes of the section under which the grant is made.