I renew my appeal in relation to the urgent need to increase the income eligibility limits for social housing in counties Cavan and Monaghan. The social housing income baseline is €30,000 in both counties. This is totally inadequate in view of the costs today for people buying or building a home. Daily I am dealing with constituents who are working hard in relatively low-paid jobs and they are above the present income limits. At the same time, those people have no hope whatsoever of getting a mortgage as their income is too low to service a home loan. The Minister, Deputy Browne, confirmed to me recently in replies to parliamentary questions that his Department is carrying out an analysis of present household income conditions. These conditions need to be amended without further delay. The present system is denying good, hard-working people and their families the opportunity to own their own homes. Those people must not be condemned to a lifetime of renting housing accommodation.

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