Paul Donnelly (Dublin West, Sinn Fein)
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481. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, and Local Government if a flexible approach will be considered in terms of the threshold limits for social housing in cases in which a family who have been on the housing list for a number of years goes over the threshold due to a child becoming employed full-time. [63308/21]

Darragh O'Brien (Dublin Fingal, Fianna Fail)
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Social housing support is a long-term support to assist those households unable to meet their long-term housing needs from their own resources, with such need determined with reference inter alia to a household's total assessable income when they apply for such support.

Applications are assessed by local authorities in accordance with 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).

The Regulations prescribe maximum net income limits for each local authority, with income defined and assessed according to a standard Household Means Policy. While the Policy does provide for a range of income disregards, and local authorities may also disregard income that is temporary, short-term or once-off in nature, the income of all persons aged 18 years and over included in a social housing application is assessable for social housing assessment purposes, and local authorities have no discretion in this regard.