Leo Varadkar (Dublin West, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

We all acknowledge that the limits for access for social housing need to be raised. They have not been raised for quite some time and the cost of housing has increased considerably in the last couple of years. It is intended that we raise those limits, but I cannot give the Deputy the exact amount or the timeframe for that at the moment. That is a matter for the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage. However, it would be right to acknowledge, as I am sure Deputy Pringle will, that we are very much under way on the biggest social housing programme in the history of the State. Nearly 9,000 new social homes will be provided this year. This figure is more than any year in the 1980s, the 1950s and the 1920s, or any time in history that we want to go back to. As a consequence of that, the number of people on the housing list has fallen by approximately 30% in recent years. However, that does not take away from the fact that we need to raise the limits.

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