Brendan Smith (Cavan-Monaghan, Fianna Fail)
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98. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, Community and Local Government if he will amend the income eligibility criteria for local authority housing by excluding FIS payments in the calculation of a person's income; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [36570/16]

Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael)
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The Social Housing Assessment Regulations 2011 prescribe the procedures for households to apply to housing authorities for social housing support and the conduct and review of social housing assessments.

The income threshold is the basic measure of whether a household is eligible in the first instance for social housing support. The 2011 Regulations prescribe maximum net income limits for each housing authority, in different bands according to the area. The income bands and the authority area assigned to each band were based on an assessment of the income needed to provide for a household's basic needs plus a comparative analysis of the local rental cost of housing accommodation across the country. The limits also reflect a blanket increase of €5,000 introduced prior to the new system coming into operation, in order to broaden the base from which social housing tenants are drawn and thereby promote sustainable communities.

Income is defined and assessed according to a standard Household Means Policy which was issued by the Minister under Regulation 17 of the 2011 Regulations. The policy sets out the manner in which housing authorities are to assess the means of any household seeking social housing support. Net income is defined as gross household income less income tax, PRSI and the universal social charge. The policy defines the types of income to be taken into consideration when assessing eligibility for social housing support. Income from Family Income Supplement (FIS) must be included in any income assessment carried out by a housing authority. Authorities do have discretion to disregard income that is considered to be temporary, short-term or once off in nature and which is outside the regular pattern of a person’s income. FIS payments do not fall into this category.

I am satisfied that the Household Means Policy and the current income limits generally provide for a fair and equitable system of identifying those households unable to provide accommodation from their own resources. This is an area that is kept under continuous review by my Department, as part of the broader social housing reform agenda set out in the Social Housing Strategy 2020.