Dismay on council over decision not to increase Tipperary's social housing income threshold

The Government’s decision not to increase the income threshold in county Tipperary to qualify for social housing to €30,000, has been criticised by county councillors and the council’s Director of Housing Services.

Their disappointment that the Government has kept the income limit to qualify for social housing in this county at €25,000 was voiced at Tipperary County Council’s October meeting.

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And the council was urged to continue to press the Government to increase the income threshold limit to enable more people on low incomes to qualify for social housing.

Councillors heard at the meeting that the social housing income threshold was increased for counties Clare, Carlow, Galway, Laois and Westmeath under a recent review.

But Housing Minister Darragh O’Brien didn’t approve any income threshold rise for county Tipperary despite being urged to do so.

The issue was raised by Carrick-on-Suir Fianna Fáil Cllr Kieran Bourke, who highlighted how Tipperary County Council pushed and pushed the Department of Housing, Planning & Local Government to increase the income threshold for this county. He urged the local authority to push a lot harder to secure it.

Clonmel Cllr Pat English of the Workers & Unemployment Action Group, said it was disappointing to hear the income threshold rise wasn’t approved. He had understood the Minister gave a commitment earlier this year that Tipperary would be considered for an increase.

“We have the population and the people in dire straits who need to get on the Housing List,” he pointed out.

Also very disappointed that the income limit was staying at €25,000 was Fine Gael Cllr Marie Murphy, who put the case for the income threshold to be increased to Minister O’Brien when she met him in May while she was the council’s Cathaoirleach.

She pointed out that the latest increase in the Minimum Wage to €11.30 per hour due to be implemented in early 2023 will mean that a minimum wage worker will earn €23,000 a year. If they worked two hours’ overtime a week, they would be “blown out of the water” and not qualify for social housing in this county.

“I think we have to put a stronger case together that income limits should be increased to €30,000. Neighbouring counties had their income limits increased. We need that to happen in Tipperary,” the Clogheen councillor declared.

Littleton’s Fianna Fáil Cllr Sean Ryan, meanwhile, described his party colleague’s decision not to increase the income threshold of Tipperary as “heartbreaking”.

He noted that trying to purchase a home with a salary of €25,000 was very difficult but if you earned slightly above this figure you had no chance of getting a council home. “There are a lot of people falling behind the cracks and it does bother me,” he said.

Director of Housing Sinead Carr said the council was also very disappointed with the decision. She spoke of how it was heartbreaking to turn away people applying for social housing when they were just over the income limit because they knew how difficult it was for them to access accommodation.

She said she had asked the Department for the criteria it used in reaching the decision not to increase the income threshold limit in Tipperary