Ruth Coppinger (Dublin West, Socialist Party) | Oireachtas source

The reason we tabled the amendment is that this provision could be misinterpreted to mean that somebody in a tenancy of an AHB would be considered eligible for housing as long as they qualify for social housing support.

We wanted this to be changed to say "having" been approved already for social housing support. There have been lots of references in Government documents to the fact that people should not be long-standing or permanent social housing tenants and that the Government would like to move to a situation in which somebody might be a social housing tenant for a short period when their income is extremely low but that if their circumstances improve they could be moved to the private sector. The purpose of this amendment is to guarantee security of tenancy for people in social housing. It exists for council tenants because if one's income changes, one just pays a higher rent and a higher percentage of one's income. I am wondering why there is a differentiation for people who are tenants of approved housing bodies.

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