Neasa Hourigan (Dublin Central, Green Party)
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854.To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, and Local Government his plans to reassess the inclusion of the working family payment in the income assessment for qualification for local authority housing; and if he will make a statement on the matter.[35264/24]

Darragh O'Brien (Dublin Fingal, Fianna Fail)
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The Social Housing Assessment Regulations 2011, as amended, prescribe maximum net income limits for each local authority in different bands according to the area concerned, with income defined and assessed according to a standard Household Means Policy.

The policy provides for a range of income disregards and local authorities have discretion to disregard income that is temporary, short-term or once-off in nature. All income from social assistance payments, allowances and benefits, including working family payment, is assessable.

The payments included in the Policy were last reviewed in 2021. As it was found that the majority of working family payment recipients are in receipt of the payment for more than one year, it was recommended that the working family payment should not be considered short term in nature and, therefore, should remain as assessable income.

However, my Department keeps the Household Means Policy under regular review in order to ensure that it continues to be appropriate.

In addition, Housing for All includes a commitment to review income eligibility for social housing. From this review, completed in November 2021, it was recommended moving five local authorities from Band 3 to Band 2, ensuring the income eligibility thresholds better reflect housing costs in those counties. Government also agreed to increase the baseline income thresholds by €5,000 for all local authorities with effect from 1 January 2023. The thresholds thus increased to €40,000, €35,000 and €30,000 for bands 1, 2 and 3 respectively.

The review further recommended the commissioning of research to develop options for a revised or new social housing income eligibility model. My Department recently received this detailed research, commissioned by the Housing Agency. The scope of the research included examining the existing income limits in the context of current market and population conditions and the suitability or otherwise of the current framework having regard to the significantly changed landscape since the standardised income limits were introduced.

My Department will now undertake a detailed examination of the report, in order to develop a new social housing income eligibility model in line with the Housing for All Action Plan update. This detailed examination will include consultation with stakeholders and will look at, inter alia, how the social housing income limits system interacts with other housing supports and ensure that they continue to target households correctly.