Peter Burke (Longford-Westmeath, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I propose to take Questions Nos. 9 and 17 together.

The 2011 social housing assessment regulations prescribe maximum net income limits for each local authority, in different bands according to the area concerned, with income being defined and assessed according to a standard household means policy. The 2011 regulations do not provide local authorities with any discretion to exceed the limits that apply to their administrative areas.

Under the household means policy, which applies in all local authorities, net income for social housing assessment is defined as gross household income less income tax, PRSI, universal social charge and additional superannuation contribution. The policy provides for a range of income disregards and local authorities also have discretion to decide to disregard income that is temporary, short-term or once-off in nature. The determination of whether an applicant household meets the income criteria is based on a calculation of their preceding 12 months' net average income prior to the date of receipt of application. This ensures that the most comprehensive picture of a household's current and previous income is available at the point of carrying out the assessment.

Social housing support is intended to address a household's long-term housing need. Rent supplement is a short-term income support for people in the private rented sector. If there has been a recent change in a household's circumstances and the household requires short-term support with its rent, it is open to it to make application for rent supplement. It remains open to that household to apply for social housing support at any stage, subject to meeting eligibility and need criteria at the point at which they apply. The documentation required with regard to proof of income is set out in the social housing application form. A degree of discretion is permitted to the local authorities as to the extent of documentation the authority deems necessary to ascertain a household's average income over the preceding 12 months.

Under regulation 28 of the assessment regulations, a household's qualification for support may be reviewed at the discretion of a local authority. Regulation 29 provides that the household's qualification for support shall be reassessed at the point of allocation of support. It has been the case since 2011 that where a household on the waiting list exceeds the income limits at the time of review, it may be removed from the list. The household means policy has not changed that position. It provides for a standard method of assessing households means, which applies right across all local authorities.

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