Eoin Ó Broin (Dublin Mid West, Sinn Fein)
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328. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, and Local Government further to Parliamentary Question No. 326 of 13 July 2021, in relation to HAP eligibility and maintenance payments the reason policy does not provide for the deduction of regular outgoings such as maintenance; and if his attention has been drawn to the fact that in some cases maintenance payments are being assessed as income for both the payer and the payee in cases in which both are in receipt of HAP. [42011/21]

Darragh O'Brien (Dublin Fingal, Fianna Fail)
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In order to be eligible for HAP support, a household must first qualify for social housing support and be placed on a housing list. Applications for social housing support are assessed by the relevant local authority, in accordance with the eligibility and need criteria set down in section 20 of the Housing (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2009 and the associated Social Housing Assessment Regulations 2011, as amended.

If a household has been deemed eligible for social housing support, it is a matter for the local authority to examine the suite of social housing supports available, including the HAP scheme, to determine the most appropriate form of social housing support for that household.

The 2011 Regulations prescribe maximum net income limits for each local authority, in different bands according to the area concerned, with income being defined and assessed according to a standard Household Means Policy. The 2011 Regulations do not provide local authorities with any discretion to exceed the limits that apply to their administrative areas.

Under the Household Means Policy, which applies in all local authorities, net income for social housing assessment is defined as gross household income less income tax, PRSI, Universal Social Charge and Additional Superannuation Contribution. The Policy provides for a range of income disregards, and local authorities also have discretion to decide to disregard income that is temporary, short-term or once-off in nature. However, with the exception of the specific payments listed in the Household Means Policy as being disregarded, all income from social insurance and social assistance payments, allowances and benefits, and maintenance payments received is assessable. There is no provision in the policy to deduct any other regular outgoings, such as maintenance paid in respect of family members, from gross household income for the purposes of the income threshold.

When a maintenance payment is made, it will be to cover the cost of living for their children, which is the same cost incurred by a couple with children that are still living together as a family unit. There are no deductions from assessable income for the costs associated with the raising of children for a family unit, therefore there are no deductions for these costs for the individual of a separated couple who is paying maintenance.