Richard Boyd Barrett: Social housing thresholds pushing families out
Richard Boyd Barrett challenged the Taoiseach in the Dáil over social housing income thresholds that have not been raised since 2023. He warned that small pay increases are pushing working families off housing lists and into limbo, while the government tweaks figures on housing need.
What he said: Richard Boyd Barrett questioned why social housing income thresholds remain unchanged since 2023 and described the effect on working families and long-term housing applicants. He argued many people who receive modest pay rises are suddenly ineligible for social housing or cost rental and end up with nowhere to go.
Impact on families: He highlighted that people who have waited five, ten or even fifteen years on housing lists can be removed when their income increases slightly. He contrasted that with existing social tenants or HAP recipients, who simply pay more rent when their income rises rather than losing their homes.
Government response: The Taoiseach responded that the Minister for Housing is considering proposals to increase the threshold and recalled a previous increase three years ago, noting a change in 2020. The Taoiseach said he would support raising the eligibility level for social housing.
Why this matters: The exchange raises questions about how eligibility thresholds shape access to social housing, cost rental and HAP, and whether current rules are pushing people into homelessness despite small income gains. Richard Boyd Barrett framed the issue as an urgent fairness concern for working families and those on long waiting lists.
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Taoiseach, I have asked you repeatedly about the social housing income thresholds. They haven't been raised since 2023. Every year, indeed every month, every week, working people who get a pay increase, in some cases just get working family parents, are pushed over the limit and they might have been five, ten, fifteen years on a housing list and it's all gone and they are left in limbo. Most of the time when they just go over that threshold, their income is not sufficient to qualify for cost rental, so they're left nowhere. It's completely unfair, it's a stealth caught by the government in terms of the real housing need in this country, massaging the figures, and it's perverse because if you actually get a social home, or indeed if you're in a HAP tenancy, when your income goes up, you don't get evicted, you just pay more rent. But people sometimes who are homeless now are getting thrown out. Taoiseach will respond. Be fair to your colleagues. Taoiseach, please. Yeah, I did say to you last week that the Minister for Housing was considering this and would be coming back to government with proposals to increase the threshold. Three years ago we did it, in 2020, we doubled by 5,000 at the time, and I would support the increase in the threshold by which people would be entitled to social housing.
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