Bríd Smith (Dublin South Central, People Before Profit Alliance) | Oireachtas source

I raise the latitude or discretion afforded to local authorities when making decisions about the allocation of social housing and the purchase of housing under the tenant in situscheme. Mr. Denis Murphy and his family were offered a home before Christmas by South Dublin County Council. The family's means were assessed and the income was over the threshold. The reason was that Mrs. Murphy had worked as a carer, as asked and called upon by the Irish State, over and above the call of duty during the Covid crisis. Discretion is afforded to local authority to overlook that and allocate the family the home but South Dublin County Council decided not to avail of it and refused the family the home. Not only that, but the council also removed the family from the housing list. This is cruel, harsh and unnecessary.

There is another aspect to this discretion afforded to local authority officials, who are decent people and I am not here to beat them up. The problem is that we do not have oversight of this discretion. I have written many times to the Minister of State, Deputy Malcolm Noonan, about this. He is the Minister of State in charge. Local authority officials are often not using discretion to buy back properties under the tenant in situscheme because, for example, it may be a three-bedroom house and two people might benefit from it or the local authority may have reduced the cost it would pay to the landlord by 20% below the market value and the landlord cannot afford to absorb that. There are many instances of this. I am referring to ordinary Ballyfermot landlords. I am sure there are lots of such landlords around the country. We are accused of never sticking up for them. I am sticking up for both the landlords and the tenants who are in situ.In the case of Denis Murphy and his family, I am highlighting the cruelty and lack of latitude and discretion shown by the local authority. Where do we go in these instances? The Department tells us it does not interfere with decisions made by local authorities. Going to the Minister is no good to us and certainly no good to the people whose lives are blighted by this.

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