Peadar Tóibín (Meath West, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

The number of people seeking housing advice as a result of losing their homes increased by 43% in 2013. Each week, between three and five new cases of families in mortgage distress present at my office. This is in addition to families already being processed by my office. For most of the families involved, dealing with this issue is a disaster. They experience the stress of potentially losing their home and the financial challenge of trying to meet mortgage repayments, while trying to feed and clothe their families and cover the costs of school, visits to the doctor and so forth. Facing all of these issues is a perfect storm for many of these families.

Another group of people are in a worse position, however. In addition to mortgage distress, unemployment, negative equity and so forth, an increasing number of people seeking advice at my office are dealing with relationship breakdown. In other words, not only are they experiencing all of the crises faced by other families, but they are also facing family breakdown. In a significant proportion of the cases of mortgage distress my office deals with, the main reason is the breakdown of relationships. In many cases, the person who remains in the family home is unable to meet the mortgage repayment on the home. It is unfortunate that this problem is not discussed in the House or media because the numbers affected are growing.

If this were not bad enough, many families are facing homelessness as a result of their circumstances. Separated mothers or fathers and their children may be able to secure support from their local authority if they have experienced physical abuse from a partner and have been forced out of their homes. However, in many of the cases I deal with, families cannot live in the family home following a separation because the environment in the home has become extremely unhealthy for one of the partners and the children. While physical violence may not occur, such toxic conditions force people to leave their homes. Typically in such scenarios, families who apply for rent supplement or to be placed on the local authority housing list, all of which are extremely long, are informed that they do not have a housing need because they have a house or their name appears on a mortgage. These people are being left in limbo as they face the possibility of homelessness. While it is technically correct that they have a house, the toxic nature of their home environment means they do not have anywhere to live. In such circumstances, the mother and children must present to the local authority seeking emergency accommodation. Many of the people in question are accommodated in bed and breakfast accommodation, flats or must share a house with other people, none of which is suitable for families. The cost of temporary accommodation such as bed and breakfast solutions is shockingly high.

Families in these types of cases have no option but to become homeless because the current legal position and structure does not recognise their family circumstances. Sleeping rough is becoming more common on the streets of Dublin and other towns and cities and the number of people accessing emergency homeless services has increased by 40%. These issues are interrelated and I ask the Minister of State to think hard about a solution for families experiencing the circumstances I have outlined.

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