Richard Boyd Barrett (Dún Laoghaire, People Before Profit Alliance)
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1717. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, and Local Government the estimated one-year cost of removing all income thresholds for social housing eligibility. [44343/25]

Richard Boyd Barrett (Dún Laoghaire, People Before Profit Alliance)
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1718. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, and Local Government his views on the potential for revenue raising through the application of differential rents to individuals on high incomes were the income thresholds for social housing eligibility removed. [44344/25]

Richard Boyd Barrett (Dún Laoghaire, People Before Profit Alliance)
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1719. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, and Local Government the estimated one-year cost of adding all social welfare payments to the income disregards for social housing eligibility. [44345/25]

James Browne (Wexford, Fianna Fail)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 1717, 1718 and 1719 together.

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

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 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's examination of the report is ongoing. 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.

The complex information requested, which relies on a range of different data inputs and analysis, is not currently available as the considerations I have referred to are still ongoing in my Department.