Cabinet Committees
Dail Éireann — 2026-09-16
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Séamus McGrath (FF), Cork South-Central

I thank the Taoiseach for the update on the progress made on housing. I will raise one specific issue relating to the qualifying income limits for social housing. It is the intention of the Government to increase these limits. I want to raise the issue to ensure that happens as quickly as possible. As the Taoiseach knows, the limits were last changed in 2023, which was three years ago. There are currently three bands ranging from €30,000, €35,000 and €40,000 in terms of qualifying limits. In the past three years, wage growth has increased cumulatively by 15%. Even if we were to stand still, we need to increase those limits by 15%. I would strongly argue that we need to be more decisive than that. We need a seismic shift to help to narrow the gap between those who fall just outside the social housing limits and those who are in a position to afford accommodation in their own right. That gap is growing. One of the measures available to the Government is to increase the qualifying limits for social housing. We must ensure that social housing is available to working people on modest incomes. At present, that is not necessarily the case. The Government must ensure that happens. We cannot have a situation whereby the qualifying limits act as a disincentive to work, as is the situation at present. Each Member of this House is aware of discussions he or she has had with constituents, who spoke about cutting back their working hours in order to keep their incomes under the limits. I ask the Taoiseach to ensure this happens quickly. It is important. We need to narrow the gap in terms of the affordability of housing for individuals and families across the country.

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Record URI: https://data.oireachtas.ie/akn/ie/debateRecord/dail/2026-09-16/debate/main
Retrieved: 2026-09-28T05:50:48+00:00
Sitting date: 2026-09-16