Local Authority Housing Dail Éireann — 2020-11-24 ============================================================ Aengus Ó Snodaigh (SF), Dublin South-Central There is no logic to the current income level because it is set so low that it excludes tens of thousands, particularly young couples. A working couple with an income of, say, €38,500 would not get any mortgage. They would not even be able to afford rent in this city or any of the surrounding counties. There needs to be a proper examination of the criteria so there will be a realistic income level. I am not suggesting we should increase it in such a way as to have an open-ended system. I understand the housing system is designed to facilitate those most in need but many of the couples, because they cannot afford to rent or afford a mortgage, are now stuck at home with their parents or siblings in overcrowded accommodation. That has led to a loss of jobs, suicides and other problems. It needs to be addressed and it should have been addressed before now. --- Source: Houses of the Oireachtas. Licensed under CC BY 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). The Official Report is revised after first publication; the fetch timestamp below identifies the version quoted. Record URI: https://data.oireachtas.ie/akn/ie/debateRecord/dail/2020-11-24/debate/main Retrieved: 2026-08-14T04:48:49+00:00 Sitting date: 2020-11-24