Peter Fitzpatrick (Louth, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

A distraught family in emergency accommodation in Dundalk has contacted me. This family of four girls is on the Fingal County Council housing list, but had to leave the area to go to Dundalk as they feared for their safety. The family chose to come to this area as it has local connections with relations living there. Fingal County Council has offered to pay for the family's emergency accommodation indefinitely. I telephoned Fingal County Council this week and it confirmed to me that whether it is six months, three years or whatever it takes, it will pay.

The cost per month for this accommodation to the State is more than €5,000 per month. The family is going into its 12th week in the emergency accommodation, which has cost Fingal County Council more than €15,000. The family has found a suitable property to rent in Dundalk and has the opportunity to set up home and make a fresh start. However, Fingal County Council is unable to provide a housing assistance payment for the family in Louth, but is able to do so in other nearby counties such as Meath.

All the family requires is a deposit and the first month's rent. The amount of money it is seeking from Fingal County Council is approximately €2,600, which would be a considerable saving compared to more than €5,000 monthly costs.

This family is stuck between a rock and a hard place, as Fingal County Council has stated it is unable to provide it, leaving this family stuck in emergency accommodation. In the long term, the cost of the housing assistance payment, HAP, for this family in Dundalk is less than the cost of emergency accommodation for one month.

If Fingal County Council would pay the deposit and a month's rent, the family would be able to come off the Fingal County Council list and go onto the Louth County Council list. After that, Louth County Council would be able to take over the HAP payments. This would possibly take four weeks. The cost of the rent would then be approximately €1,500 per month, rather than the current cost of more than €5,000.

As I said, this is a family of four girls. They are staying in a bed and breakfast, in a single room with two double beds. One of the family members is permanently disabled, and her health and mental health is quickly deteriorating. That family member is currently out of education and is only seven years old. She has a life-limiting, life-threatening metabolic condition, known as mitochondrialdisorder, and is tube-fed. She is behind on her school work and is not sleeping properly. How could anyone sleep properly with four girls in one room with two double beds? If the family was able to move into this rented accommodation, she would then be able to take up her education in a local special needs school and have a healthy routine.

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