Michael Healy-Rae (Kerry, Independent)
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313. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, and Local Government his plans, if any, to review the income threshold to qualify for social housing following Budget 2023 and the slight increase that some cohorts have received; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [49540/22]

Gino Kenny (Dublin Mid West, People Before Profit Alliance)
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337. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, and Local Government when he will publish the report on income eligibility for social housing that was completed in December 2021; and when the recommendations from that report will be implemented. [50155/22]

Darragh O'Brien (Dublin Fingal, Fianna Fail)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 313 and 337 together.

The review on social housing income thresholds is now available at the link below on my Departments website:

www.gov.ie/en/publication/c49a0-review-of-income-eligibility-for-social-housing-support/

I have recently approved proposals to scope and develop options for a revised or new social housing income eligibility model. This work will commence shortly under the aegis of the Housing Agency who have been tasked with commissioning it and I expect that the work will complete by the end of 2022.

Pending completion of this work, I have approved changes to the social housing income eligibility bands. Five local authorities - Carlow, Clare, Galway County, Laois and Westmeath - will be moved from Band 3 to Band 2. Accordingly, the baseline income eligibility threshold for these areas will increase from €25,000 to €30,000. The change reflects the movement in rents in recent years in these areas and will ensure local authority areas with similar accommodation costs continue to be grouped together in the respective bands. The changes came into effect from 1 October 2022.

It is now appropriate to await the report I referred to previously before considering the appropriate income threshold levels for all counties, and the potential impact of any changes that might arise.

In relation to Budget 2023, it should be noted that a number of the changes announced in the Budget come into effect in 2023, while others such as once-off financial payments may be disregarded as part of the income assessment for social housing eligibility.

Cormac Devlin (Dún Laoghaire, Fianna Fail)
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314. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, and Local Government the actions that are still outstanding from the August 2005 report on the Present and Future Protection of Thatched Structures in Ireland; the supports that are available to support homeowners maintain thatched roofs; the number of thatched roof dwellings per county; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [49564/22]

Malcolm Noonan (Carlow-Kilkenny, Green Party)
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I am acutely aware of the problems faced by owners of thatched properties. The report that you refer to has been superseded by 'A Living tradition: a strategy to enhance understanding, minding and handing-on of our built vernacular heritage', which I launched last December.

Action 6 of this strategy deals specifically with thatch. Under this action, my Department is working to resolve the urgent issue of availability and affordability of insurance for thatched buildings and to examine other relevant issues including thatching standards, fire prevention guidance, and the availability of appropriate thatching materials.

My Department has commissioned an expert report on the question of thatch insurance. An interim report was received at the end of September with the final report due at the end of November. My Department has begun to examine the approaches suggested by the interim findings and will be prepared to act quickly on the findings of the final report in November.

At present my Department estimates that there are approximately 2,000 older vernacular thatched houses in Ireland. My Department is in the process of establishing a national survey of thatched buildings which will determine the overall position more precisely and make possible an accurate county-by-county breakdown.

Under Action 4 of the strategy my Department will be assessing the efficacy of grant aid programmes for vernacular buildings, and the Department’s thatching grant will form part of this assessment. All of these activities are intended to improve the situation for thatch owners.

Under my Department’s grant scheme for the renewal or repair of a thatched roof, funding of up to €6,350, or up to 80% of the approved cost, whichever is the lesser, may be payable in respect of necessary works to renew or repair the thatched roofs of private houses situated on the mainland where the private owner holds a medical card. A higher level of assistance of up to €8,252 is available for houses on specified offshore islands, where the owner holds a medical card. In the case of private owners without a medical card, funding of up to €3,810, or two thirds of the approved cost, whichever is the lesser, may be payable in respect of necessary works to renew or repair the thatched roofs of private houses situated on the mainland, rising to €5,714 where the house is situated on a specified off-shore island.

In addition to the thatch repair grant, my Department provides financial support for the protection of eligible heritage buildings and historic structures through two grant schemes which are, in the main, administered by the local authorities. These are the Historic Structures Fund (HSF) and the Built Heritage Investment Scheme (BHIS). Details of the 2023 schemes will be made available in the coming weeks.