asked the Minister for the Environment if he will state in relation to (a) Dublin Corporation, (b) Dublin County Council and (c) Tipperary (North Riding) County Council whether an income means test operates when considering applications for local authority housing; and, if so, the means test rules that apply in each of these authorities.
Written Answers. - Local Authority Housing.
829.
Local authority houses are let in accordance with the local authority's statutory scheme of letting priorities under section 60 of the Housing Act, 1966. The current schemes of letting priorities for the areas mentioned do not specify an income means test as a determining factor in the eligibility of applicants for rehousing.
However, in preparing their house building programme all housing authorities are 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, all housing authorities are expected to consider the circumstances of individual housing applicants, including the level of their incomes, in deciding whether they should be approved for rehousing 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.