Séamus Healy (Tipperary South, Workers and Unemployed Action Group)

The new prescribed income limits for local authority housing are completely and absolutely inadequate and are placing families in difficult situations in which they can be approved neither for local authority housing nor for local authority mortgages or, indeed, mortgages from other lending agencies. If I gave an example of what I am talking about, it might clarify the matter. I hope the Minister will take this into consideration and significantly increase the prescribed income limits.

The example to which I refer is a family of four consisting of a husband, wife and two children. The husband is working full-time for about €11 per hour, which is the equivalent of a take-home pay of €438 per week or €22,776 per annum. The family, which is obviously on a low income, is also in receipt of family income supplement of €99 per week. The wife is a full-time housewife who does not work outside the home. The family holds a medical card and is currently paying €150 per week to a landlord for private rented accommodation. They receive no rent supplement because the husband works full-time. Their take-home income, including the family income supplement, is €537 per week, but after paying €150 per week in rent, their net income is €387 per week, which is similar to the minimum wage. This must cover the ongoing day-to-day expenses of a husband, wife and two children.

That family is €500 over the income limit for local authority housing. In addition, they cannot be approved for a mortgage because the husband is not earning enough. The family would be better off with no wage earner; taking into account the €150 per week rent, they would be better off in receipt of jobseeker's allowance or benefit. They are in limbo, unable to be approved for a house or obtain a mortgage. They are stuck in a situation in which they are on a very low income but must still pay €150 per week with no rent supplement.

This is unsustainable and is causing significant difficulties for large numbers of housing applicants. I hope the Minister will consider this and increase the prescribed income limits significantly to ensure families with wage-earners on low income can be approved for local authority housing.

The cases of applicants who were approved for housing prior to 1 April, the date on which the new regulations were introduced, are now being reviewed. I hope the Minister will agree that those who were approved for local authority houses before 1 April should retain their approval and be housed in the normal way. I ask the Minister to consider increasing the income limits significantly.

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