Matt Carthy (Cavan-Monaghan, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

The people who are on social housing waiting lists do not want to hear about reports or promises. They want to see the Government take action that has been long-promised in respect of income limit thresholds. The income limits were introduced, in my view, as a measure simply to reduce the waiting lists. In the interim, they have caused undue hardship to those people who are waiting for housing. My office advocated for a single parent who is working in a low-paid job. She is currently living in her parents' home, sharing a box room with her child. She was provisionally offered a house this month, which was a huge relief. She completed the paperwork only to be then told that she exceeded the income limits by €1,500 a year or €28 a week and the offer of housing was withdrawn. Worse than that, she has been removed from the housing list altogether and she was told that when she gets back on it if her income reduces, she will go to the back of the queue. That is a scandal that needs to be addressed. We need to know when that scandal will be addressed.

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