Eoin Ó Broin (Dublin Mid West, Sinn Fein)
Link to this: Individually | In context

98. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, and Local Government if holders of refugee, subsidiary protection and programme refugee statuses who are applying to access social housing supports are required to show proof of income for the previous 12 months if some of that period was spent in their country of origin; if it is only required to show proof of income from the date they received that status; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [52462/25]

James Browne (Wexford, Fianna Fail)
Link to this: Individually | In context

Social housing is a long-term support intended to support households that have continuing, long-term difficulty meeting their own accommodation needs. This is reflected in the underpinning legislation and the Household Means Policy, which provides for applicants’ eligibility to be assessed on their net average income over the previous 12 months from the date of their application. Given that the over-arching aim of social housing support is to ensure that support is provided to those households who cannot meet their accommodation costs from their own resources, it is vital that as clear a picture as possible of a household’s earning capacity is established when they apply for that support.

While local authorities have no discretion regarding the 12-month income requirement, they have a degree of discretion as to the extent of documentation the authority deems necessary to ascertain a household’s average income over the preceding 12 months in order to satisfy themselves of the household’s true income pattern.

Decisions on the qualification of households for social housing support, the most appropriate form of such support, and the allocation of that support are a matter solely for the local authority concerned.