asked the Minister for the Environment the current income limit being applied by local authorities in respect of their acceptance of housing applications from prospective applicants having regard to the fact that applicants above a certain income limit are deemed by him to be in a position to provide their own accommodation: if he is aware that this decision is causing considerable hardship to certain families and if he will make a statement on the matter.
Written Answers. - Housing Income Limit.
433.
No income limit has been specified by my Department for eligibility for re-housing by a local authority. However, in preparing their house building programme, a housing authority is required by section 55 (3) of the Housing Act, 1966, to provide adequate and suitable housing accommodation for persons who in the opinion of the authority are in need of and are unable to provide such accommodation from their own resources. In pursuance of this requirement each housing authority is expected to consider the circumstances of individual housing applicants, including the level of their incomes, in deciding whether they should be approved for re-housing or whether they could reasonably be expected to provide accommodation from their own resources assisted by the generous aids provided for this purpose from public funds.