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

This is one of the sections of the Bill I was referring to yesterday when I said it would have been preferable if this had gone through the ordinary legislative process. If I may, I will take a second to highlight the particular concern. Why have cost rental landlords like the LDA asked for this provision? It is something they have been very open about in their conversations with many of us, and there is no criticism of them for asking. The first reason is that a single-person household currently cannot actually afford or get access to a one-bedroom cost rental unit. The cost of the units is more than a third of the disposable income of an entry-level nurse, for example. They have this dilemma because the one-bedroom units which are really designed for a single-person household are not affordable under the rules of the scheme. By allowing two single-person households to be treated separately for a two-bedroom unit, and having a slightly higher combined income threshold because they are both assessed separately, it facilitates that. That is the logic. Where involuntary sharing comes in is that, while this is fine as a short-term arrangement for a number of years, that single person may end up with a partner. They may want to move into two-bedroom cost rental accommodation of their own, maybe they want to have children. The difficulty is that it might not be possible because of the income. It is not that anybody is being forced into involuntary sharing, but it could become a reality.

This may be an area in which we will table an amendment in the Seanad. I think the deadline for doing so is Friday. As the Minister moves from the Bill into the regulations, I ask him to really give some thought to this. A short-term solution to one problem, that a single person cannot afford a one-bedroom cost rental, could be a longer term problem. I will deal with the issue around transfers when we get to the relevant section. I am genuinely concerned that rather than looking at how we can bring down the cost of those one-bedroom units, we are creating potential other problems. Of course, people might want to share. They might not want a one-bedroom unit and I think it is appropriate. In the Minister's response, can he indicate if he has decided what the income threshold will be for those separate households? Is there an upper limit above which it will not go? Would this change facilitate two couples being treated as two separate households seeking to rent a two-bedroom cost rental, rather than just two singles, if the couples were within the income limits the Minister sets? Is it restricted to two persons within a two-bedroom unit?

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