Action on housing demanded

THE new Tánaiste’s desire to drive an

“ambitious programme of social and affordable housing

? has been met with scepticism by a campaign group based in the heart of her Dublin West constituency.

Last week, at her first press conference as Labour Party leader, Joan Burton spoke of her hopes for a social recovery and said housing difficulties needed to be addressed as a matter of urgency.

She said an overreliance on the private rented sector that began a decade ago had proved to be inadequate.

“I believe that it’s necessary to have a social housing programme that will allow families, particularly families with children, to have a secure lifelong tenancy where they would be paying rent according to their means,

? she continued.

“That will mean that there will be no barriers to families being conflicted between receiving a rent supplement and then being unable to go out to work, so I consider that a critical reform.

?

The Housing Action Group, which was founded with the assistance of the Anti-Austerity Alliance in the Tánaiste’s constituency, urged her to implement a home building policy and scrap the recently introduced Housing Assistance Payment (HAP).

The new payment replaces the rent supplement scheme and is designed to make it easier for tenants to take up job offers without suffering financially.

However, the HAP has been criticized by Housing Action Group members including Gwen Connell, a mother from Dublin 15 who became homeless after her rent was increased.

“There is a direct contradiction between building more social housing and the Housing Assistance Payment which her government are introducing,

? Ms Connell said.

“If the Minister is serious about tackling the housing crisis she must immediately scrap the HAP as part of this.

“We welcome the fact that Joan Burton now realises that there is a housing crisis despite the fact that we have been highlighting this for months.

“Her comments about implementing a social housing programme cannot turn out to be more spin.

?

Tamara Kearns, whose family also became homeless following a rent increase, said homelessness was now affecting low paid workers as well as the unemployed.

“My family became homeless because we couldn’t afford to pay rent even though my husband was working,

? she said.

“Sixteen per cent of workers live officially below the poverty line, this is a disgrace, we cannot hang around for another report. People with families cannot afford to go on schemes like JobBridge and Gateway.

“We need a living wage which will allow families to live to a decent standard and not end up being homeless because we can’t afford somewhere to live.”

Last week the Housing Action Group held a protest at City Hall against a ban on rent allowance in Ballymun. The ban was introduced in an effort to increase tenure diversity, a key objective of the local regeneration programme.

A recent report on the regeneration stated that tenure diversity in the area was at risk and that a large number of tenancies were supported by rent supplement.

“BRL and the Department of Social and Family Affairs agreed a measure to address this,

? the report reads.

Local Sinn Fein councillor, Noeleen Reilly, who took part in her party’s recent Day of Action on Housing in Dublin, has called for the ban to be lifted.

“The regeneration is almost complete and the argument for keeping this restriction in place is no longer viable,

? Cllr Reilly said.

“Due to the economic crash more and more people are reliant on social welfare payments where they cannot get accommodation and are ending up homeless or staying in severely overcrowded situations. Not only that but the ban on rent supplement in Ballymun has forced many families to move out of the area, which is certainly not what was intended by the regeneration.

?

Cllr Reilly also described the introduction of HAP as

“nothing more than a cynical measure to massage the social housing figures

?.

“The Government refuse to address the problem by increasing capital spend for the construction of homes and instead prefer to put money into the hands of private landlords,

? she said.

“HAP will replace the current rent allowance system but will provide no more security for tenants. Tenants will still be required to source housing themselves and landlords will still be able to call the shots and end tenancies at will.

“This support system in many ways is becoming redundant anyway as Landlords are receiving higher rents in the private sector due to the shortage of housing.

?