Mayo councillors demand increase in social housing income limits to match Galway threshold
Councillors in Mayo have raised concerns about the income limits for social housing eligibility, arguing that the current thresholds are becoming increasingly out of step with working-family incomes and have highlighted the disparity between the limits in Mayo and in neighbouring County Galway.
Under Government regulations, Mayo sits in Band Three of the basic net income limits for social housing, meaning a single adult must earn €30,000 or less to qualify.
Councillors say the threshold now excludes too many people, as the cost of living continues to rise and house prices on the open market keep increasing, yet wages remain largely stagnant.
At the latest Castlebar Municipal District meeting, Cllr Michael Kilcoyne voiced his frustration that the Government is “refusing” to raise the limit for social housing.
“If two people are working full time and they both get minimum wage, they are over the limit for a social house,” he said.
Cllr Kilcoyne argued that the situation is made even more unfair by the fact that just across the border in County Galway, which falls into Band Two, the income limit for a single adult is €35,000.
He said the municipal district should write to Minister for Housing James Browne to question the disparity.
Under the social housing income limits, the basic limit can be increased by 5pc for each additional adult in the household, up to a maximum of 10pc for two additional adults, and by 2.5pc per child.
This means that a family of four in Galway can qualify for social housing with an income of €38,500, while the equivalent family in Mayo must earn €33,000 or less.
Cllr Kilcoyne has repeatedly highlighted that there is a growing number of households with two adults working full-time who are earning just above the income limit, leaving them ineligible for social housing support despite being unable to afford to buy on the open market.
He noted that similar households in Galway can earn around €5,000 more per year and remain eligible for social housing.
Cllr Kilcoyne’s concerns are shared by many of his colleagues across Mayo, as the need to raise the income limit has been raised at multiple council meetings.
During the most recent Housing Strategic Policy Committee meeting, Cllr Peter Flynn also questioned the disparity between social housing income thresholds in County Galway and County Mayo, and called on the Government to explain the difference.
He asked how a family living in Shrule could be excluded from qualifying for social housing while a family with the same income just over the border in Galway would be deemed eligible.
At a meeting of Mayo County Council, Cllr Patsy O’Brien called for the income limit to be increased to €40,000, linking the need for the change to the recent rise in eviction notices around the county.
He warned that households facing eviction are struggling to afford rising rents, cannot buy on the open market, and “find themselves not eligible for social housing because the threshold is too low.”
Cllr Flynn supported the call, suggesting thresholds should rise to at least €40,000, and possibly even €50,000.
However, he acknowledged the limits of the local authorities' influence, as he said there is “nothing anyone in this room can do about it,” noting that the council repeatedly passed motions urging the Government to revise the current income limits.
This article has been funded by the Local Democracy Reporting Scheme.