Social housing income limits
Deputy Boyd Barrett called for urgent reform of social housing income thresholds, arguing working families are being excluded despite low incomes. The Taoiseach said he would raise it with the Minister, noted recent social housing gains, and accepted the need to look at the category the Deputy described.
I ask the Government to urgently review social housing income limits. The situation is getting worse and worse. One of the biggest phenomena I am coming across is people who are on working family payment, a payment that has given to people precisely because they do not have enough income to live, getting the payment and then being knocked off the list as it takes them over the threshold. It is unbelievable. In most of those cases, their income is too low for them to be able to avail of cost rental because it has to be less than 35% of their income. There is a whole group of people earning between about €40,000 and €50,000 per year who are entitled to no housing support at all. They are knocked off the list because they get working family payment, a little pay rise or whatever, but their income is too low to pay the rents for cost rental, leaving them nowhere. Those social housing income limits must be reviewed upwards as a matter of urgency.
Comment on this
I will talk to the Minister in respect of that. The previous Government increased it. I make the point that between July 2020 and the end of quarter 2 of this year, 50,684 social houses were added to the social housing stock. That is way ahead of anything that was ever done in the previous 20 years.
Comment on this
That is no good to people who are off the list.
Comment on this
It is an important point to acknowledge. Nearly 14,000 homes were brought back into use under the voids programme. We are reaching levels of social housing building and provision now that we had not seen since the 1970s, which is good. We need to continue to do that and we will continue to do it. More than 26,000 social homes are at all stages of design and build in Ireland. That is dealing with those on the list already but we will look at that category the Deputy mentioned, in terms of those on the working family payment or those who may not be able to avail of cost rental. I accept that there is a category there. When we started in 2020, we had to substantially ramp up construction and supply of social housing, which we have done, and we now have a consistent level. We will also increase that over the next number of years. Then there is the issue with the eligibility threshold, which will be progressively increased.