Richard Boyd Barrett (Dún Laoghaire, People Before Profit Alliance) | Oireachtas source

There are major problems in processing basic but often urgent and critical applications for people in my local authority. I think it is part of the wider problem of recruitment and retention in staff in key areas of the public service. I will give just two examples. If people are looking for medical priority in the housing list, often in very serious situations, they are now having to wait between six and nine months in my area just to get the application processed. For example, Leo, who is 73 years and has chronic spinal problems, is couch-surfing. He has been waiting five months for his application to be processed. Then there is another case of a couple where the husband was recently diagnosed with early-onset Alzheimer's. He can no longer work and the couple are in very serious difficulty with their housing assistance payment, HAP, tenancy because it was based on their previous earnings. They are trying to get medical priority but they are waiting months. I could go on through the list. The picture is similar for people who are looking to get their social housing eligibility assessed based on the new thresholds. We need to do something to ensure that staff resources are there to address these matters in local authorities.

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