A single person in Co Monaghan whose take-home pay is more than €30,000 a year cannot qualify for social housing from Monaghan County Council. That is the lowest limit in the country, and Housing Minister James Browne has told the Dáil it "absolutely" has to rise, though he has not said when or by how much.
The limit came up in the Dáil on Thursday 1 October, when Cavan-Monaghan TD Brendan Smith asked the minister when the income eligibility limits for social housing in Cavan and Monaghan would be increased. Fellow Cavan-Monaghan TD Matt Carthy of Sinn Féin also tabled a written question asking whether the limits will be changed. Deputy Smith called them "extremely low" and said a "radical amendment" was needed so that people who cannot buy their own home can still qualify.
How the Monaghan limit works
Every council is placed in one of three bands. According to the minister's reply, the baseline limits are €40,000 for band 1, €35,000 for band 2 and €30,000 for band 3. Monaghan and Cavan are both in band 3. The figures were last raised, by €5,000 across the board, from 1 January 2023, the minister said in a written answer the same day.
The limit is for net income: gross household income less income tax, PRSI, USC and any additional superannuation contribution. The €30,000 applies to a single-person household. The rules then add:
- 5% for each additional adult in the household, up to a maximum of 10%;
- 2.5% for each child.
Worked through on those rules, a couple in Monaghan would have a limit of €31,500, a couple with two children €33,000, and a single parent with two children €31,500.
"There will be announcements"
Mr Browne said his department has been examining the existing limits against current market and household income conditions, including research it commissioned, and expects that analysis to conclude "shortly". He also wants a more regular review process.
"There is very much a recognition that those limits need to increase. We are working on that proposal. In my view, they absolutely do have to increase," the minister told the Dáil. He added that if higher limits meant longer housing lists, "that in itself is not a concern for me. My concern is getting those people housed." He closed by saying: "There will be announcements on this in the near future."
Deputy Smith said that every weekend he meets people "working hard in low-paid jobs" whose income is still above the limit and who have no chance of a mortgage. "We cannot condemn them to renting for life," he said. Northern Sound reported him describing it as a big issue for "good genuine hardworking people".
Deputy Eoin Ó Broin went further, asking the minister to consider abolishing band 3 altogether and to link the limits to an index. He said the ten band 3 counties should be moved into band 2 "at a minimum", and warned that people marginally over the limit can be taken off waiting lists at their annual review.
What it means locally
For now, nothing has changed: the €30,000 band 3 limit still applies to anyone applying to Monaghan County Council. No new figure or start date has been announced.
The Government has also said it will stop funding turnkey purchases of new social homes after 2027 (see our report), while house prices in the county keep climbing, with the median asking price now €210,000 (MyHome figures). Monaghan County Council already re-lets empty homes faster than any other council (read more).
Anyone unsure whether they qualify should contact the housing section of Monaghan County Council, which assesses applications.
