Eoin Hayes (Dublin Bay South, Social Democrats)
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581. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, and Local Government his position on if payments under the mother and baby institutions payment scheme come under the category of income that is not assessable and should be disregarded for the purposes of assessing income under the Housing Means Policy in local authorities; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [63303/25]

James Browne (Wexford, Fianna Fail)
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Applications for social housing support are assessed by the relevant local authority, in accordance with the 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 2011 Regulations prescribe maximum net income limits for each local authority, in different bands according to the area concerned, with income being defined and assessed according to a standard Household Means Policy. In assessing household income for the purposes of the household means policy, a local authority may decide to disregard income that is once-off, temporary or short-term in nature and which is outside the regular pattern of a person’s annual income.

Examples of once off payments or irregular payments that may be disregarded are outlined in the policy, available at www.gov.ie/en/publication/fb1f2-social-housing-support-household-means-policy/. While the Mother and Baby Institution Payment Scheme is not specifically mentioned, it would fall under this category.