Catherine Murphy (Kildare North, Social Democrats)
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588. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, and Local Government the discretion permitted by local authorities in a case of an application for mortgage to rent in circumstances (details supplied); if these limits will be increased to reflect the reality of the situation families are facing applying for inclusion to the social housing register in circumstances in which they are marginally above the maximum income limits; the way in which these limits have been assessed; the length of time they are set to be in place and over which years [31522/18]

Eoghan Murphy (Dublin Bay South, Fine Gael)
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The income eligibility limits for Social Housing Support are set out in the Social Housing Assessment Regulations 2011 which prescribe maximum net income limits for each local authority, in different bands according to the area, with income being defined and assessed according to a standard Household Means Policy. Local authorities are obliged to adhere to the Household Means Policy in assessing applicants for social housing support.

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. It is important to note that the limits introduced in 2011 also reflected 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, both promoting sustainable communities and also providing a degree of future-proofing.

As part of the broader social housing reform agenda, a review of income eligibility for social housing supports has commenced. The Housing Agency is carrying out the detailed statistical work on behalf of my Department and I expect the results of this review to be available for publication in late Summer 2018.