Brendan Smith (Cavan-Monaghan, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

For a number of years I have been raising, with the Minister, his predecessor and the Minister of State, the urgent need to increase the income eligibility limits for social housing. In my constituency of Cavan-Monaghan, we are in the lowest zone in the country whereby the income limit for a single person is €25,000 and for a couple is €30,000. It is a 40% differential between that and most other counties throughout the country. We are condemning people to not being able to avail of social housing and at the same time those people have no chance whatsoever of being able to get a mortgage to buy their own home. I have repeatedly asked at Question Time that the Department of Housing, Planning and Local Government finalise the review, increase the eligibility limits to a realistic level and to get movement on this issue without further delay.

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