Eoin Ó Broin (Dublin Mid West, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I cannot stress enough the urgency of this. I will take the example of a couple in my constituency who are €500 or €1,000 above the social housing eligibility threshold. If they were to avail of the cost rental that is coming through Tuath in Kilcarbery, they would be spending almost 50% of their net income on rent. Cost rental does not work for that cohort. What that tells us is that we have to raise the thresholds. I absolutely appreciate it will take some significant assessment to determine to what level it is increased and how that is operated across local authorities. I do not believe, however, that it should take six months to make those decisions given that the work will have been done by the Department.

I appeal to the Minister and the Minister of State to come back with a formal recommendation as a matter of urgency. It is simply not acceptable for a working family on a hard income who have waited eight, nine or ten years on the list, to have to then decide whether to give up a promotion or some increased permanent overtime to keep their position there, or take that extra money to deal with the cost of living crisis and lose their social housing position and, ultimately, be worse off because they have to pay rents. This needs a decision this summer and I urge the Minister and the Minister of State to take that decision and announce it, for the good of all of those families affected.

See this speech in context