Kieran O'Donnell (Limerick City, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Ceann Comhairle for facilitating me in regard to this important topic. I want to begin with the Housing for All document. The review of the income eligibility for social housing is pending. It is something I feel strongly about. As a Deputy in Limerick city and north Tipperary, the whole issue of social housing is something I deal with every day of the week with constituents. When we look at the income limits for social housing, we find that the last substantial change to those limits was in April 2011, approximately 11 years ago. There were also some changes whereby the cap for the child allowance was removed last year, which was welcome.

Back in April 2011, the bands for a single person equated approximately to the average industrial wage. That average industrial wage is now up to about €43,000, which is a 20% increase. Furthermore, in that period we have seen an increase of nearly 100% in rents and we have seen an increase of 45% in the average cost of a house, from about €200,000 to €290,000. In April 2011, there was a €5,000 increase in all bands. I am proposing that this time there should be a minimum €5,000 increase across all bands. Second, the €5,000 is a 20% increase for band 3, which is a single person on €25,000. I would like to see a 20% increase in the allowance for an adult, which would go from 5% to 6% with the cap going from 10% to 12%. For a child it would go from 2.5% to 3%.

I do not want something to be done that would have the unintended consequence of being hugely inflationary. With the limits I have proposed, people would still qualify for the housing assistance payment, HAP, and social housing. The follow-on from that is that anyone who is involved in social housing should also aspire to be able to purchase his or her own home. The incremental purchase scheme is in place and I would advance it. However, at the moment many people might not be able to qualify for it with the current income limits for social housing. What I am proposing would increase the amount of a mortgage for someone who is applying for the incremental purchase scheme. This would be of the order of €20,000 because you would have people on €5,000 plus higher income limits within social housing.

Where is the review? When will it be published? I am talking about a €5,000 increase across the board on all bands plus an increase from 5% to 6% for the adult dependent, increasing the cap from 10% to 12%, which is two adults, to keep pace and then an increase in the child allowance from 2.5% to 3%. That is a 20% increase across the board and it somewhat keeps pace with the increase in the average industrial wage. Thus, the same basis that was there in 2011 would apply today. It will also feed into the incremental purchase scheme. Regardless of who one is, one should be able to aspire to own one’s home. The current income limits for social housing make that difficult under the incremental purchase scheme.

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