Mark Daly (Fianna Fail)
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I welcome the Minister of State, Deputy Cannon, to the House.

This is a short query on the family income supplement, which is currently being included as assessable for consideration when persons are being considered for housing applications. I would ask the Minister, in light of the current situation, that it would not be assessable for consideration when people's household means are being assess when they seek to get housing from the State. I would ask the Minister to ensure people who are in difficult situations would not be caught in this trap where if they are in receipt of the family income supplement, they are deemed to have too much income and find themselves in a difficult situation when they go looking for housing.

Ciarán Cannon (Galway East, Fine Gael)
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I thank Senator Daly for raising this important issue which I am taking on behalf of the Minister of State, Deputy Willie Penrose.

On 1 April 2011, a new standard procedure for assessing applicants for social housing was introduced in every housing authority. The ultimate aim of the new system is to create a fairer, more consistent and transparent approach to eligibility for social housing support. The system includes maximum net income limits, in different bands according to the area, with income being assessed according to a standard household means policy.

Prior to the new system there was considerable inconsistency on income criteria in the various local authorities. This meant that applicants for support who were on similar incomes could be treated very differently because of where they happened to live. This was neither equitable nor efficient. The Minister of State with responsibility for housing and planning will take note of the points raised by Senator Daly regarding the policy of including family income supplement and assessable income. However, he has asked me to point out that one of his first acts was to revise the income thresholds set by his predecessor, to increase all the bands by €5,000. Therefore, while income from family income supplement is assessable under the Department of the Environment Community and Local Government's household means policy, the Minister believes the revised thresholds are sufficiently generous to enable a broad range of households to access social housing. The income threshold for a family with two adults and two children in the band 2 area, which includes County Kerry, is €33,000 net income, which equates to a gross income of at least €40,000. This income should be sufficient to cover the cost of accommodation in the private rented sector in that area.

The calculation of net income is gross household income less income tax, PRSI and the universal social charge. While child benefit and some other income types are disregarded, most other payments received from the Department of Social Protection are assessable. As family income supplement is usually paid for 52 weeks and the supplement can be re-applied for after this period, it was considered appropriate to include it as assessable income. Given the cost to the State of providing social housing, the Minister of State, Deputy Penrose considers it is prudent and fair to direct resources to those most in need of social housing support and who are unable to provide for their accommodation needs from their own resources. He is confident that the current income eligibility requirements achieve this and that the new assessment criteria ensure we have a more equitable and transparent assessment process for housing. He proposes to review the 2011 social housing assessment regulations with a view to making any adjustments required in light of experience. This review will include an examination of the income thresholds themselves and also the policy applied to determine assessable means.

Mark Daly (Fianna Fail)
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I thank the Minister of State for his reply and I look forward to the outcome of the review.