Fury greets housing list changes

FURY greeted a
decision by Dun Laoghaire Rathdown County Council to remove a number of
applicants on its housing list.

Protesters
demonstrated outside the council building last week following announcements
that 400 people would be removed from the list.

The protest was
held in response to a Government led initiative that aims to see the end of
council built public housing across all local authority areas.

Instead, housing
applicants will be transferred to permanent rent allowance schemes.

In Dun
Laoghaire, 400 of the 4,000 people on the list have been removed.

Some councillors
reacted angrily to the move, as they believe a high volume of skilled
construction workers will remain jobless.

Last week’s
protest was held to coincide with a motion raised by Cllr Hugh Lewis (PBPA)
that called on the Government to release suitable NAMA properties to local
authorities to accommodate those on social housing lists.

Deputy Richard
Boyd Barrett (PBPA) said:

“The new housing regulations are a disgrace. The
Government has brought in legislation that will see landlords and developers
get even richer on taxpayers’ money.

“Instead of
privatising social housing the Government should initiate public works programmes
that would save the State money, employ construction workers currently on
social welfare and meet the needs of the tens of thousands across the country
desperately in need of a home.

?

A spokesman for
the council confirmed that recent Government legislation required all local
authorities to make some changes to the eligibility criteria for housing
support.

“Under Section 19 of the Housing (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2009,
a household accommodated through the Rental Accommodation Scheme (RAS) is classified
as a Social Housing Support Tenant and is considered therefore to be in receipt
of Social Housing Support,

? the spokesperson said.

“Under this
legislation the housing need of a household accommodated by RAS is considered
to have been met and their housing waiting list application would be closed.

?

Following
assessment by the council’s Housing Department, applicants will be credited for
their time on the housing waiting list from the date of their original approved
housing application.