Richard Boyd Barrett (Dún Laoghaire, People Before Profit Alliance)
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225. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, Community and Local Government if he will take the high rents in Dún Laoghaire Rathdown and their impact on families into consideration and instruct the local authority to employ flexibility with income limits in the assessment of eligibility for social housing; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [39391/16]

Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael)
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For the purpose of assessing households under the income eligibility criteria, the Social Housing Assessment Regulations 2011 prescribe the maximum net income limits that can be set by each housing authority to be applied in assessing an applicant’s eligibility for social housing support. The 2011 Regulations do not provide housing authorities with any discretion to exceed the thresholds that apply to their administrative areas.

Income is assessed under the Household Means Policy, which applies in all housing authorities. Under the policy, net income for social housing assessment is defined as gross household income less income tax, PRSI and the universal social charge. The policy provides for a range of income disregards, and housing authorities also have discretion to disregard income that is temporary, short-term or once off in nature.

I am satisfied that the current income limits generally provide for a fair and equitable system of identifying those households unable to provide accommodation from their own resources. However, these limits will continue to be kept under review by my Department, as part of the broader social housing reform agenda set out in Social Housing Strategy 2020.