Pauline Tully (Cavan-Monaghan, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I am raising this issue because a single parent, a woman with three children, came into my office. She is facing eviction. She works two days a week and receives the lone parent payment and working family payment and is now over the threshold for social housing in her area. When discussing this case with the housing officer in the local authority, she commented that the working family payment puts a lot of people over the threshold. It is a weekly, tax-free payment for employees with children. It supports people on low pay; it is not counted as means for the medical card application. Can it not be considered as means for the social housing list? It disproportionately affects single parents in this instance. This woman is considering not claiming the payment so that she can get back under the threshold to be considered for the social housing list.

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