Peadar Tóibín (Meath West, Aontú) | Oireachtas source

It is wrong that we have tenants living on the same street who are being treated differently. We should be able to recognise that. It is wrong that people in certain communities receive a financial advantage over others who are in the same accommodation scenarios as they are.

I am aware of a mother, for example, who has three children with autism. They live on the third floor of a block of flats in a town. She is in big trouble - a crisis situation - trying to raise her kids in that scenario. She is on the housing waiting list as she does not have the funds to get a house on the housing market. She does not receive this payment.

I am also aware of a father, who has recently split up from his wife. He recently got permission for his children to go to his accommodation two nights a week. However, he currently lives in emergency accommodation with ten other men. He cannot bring his children into his household at the moment. He is on the housing waiting list but it could be ten years before he gets a house, because he is a single man. He does not receive the payment.

Many people who are currently in very difficult housing situations - in crisis - rightly feel there is a two-tier situation in terms of income and funds from the State for housing accommodation. People who perhaps live on the same street are treated differently. One family could have an income of €100,000 and another family an income of €30,000, yet because of the way the system is built, the family receiving €100,000 gets this fund and the family on the lower income does not. We must have a standard so that everybody is treated equally. The fact that there is not a standard is a major problem. It is beyond time that we started to reform this payment and recognise that everybody should be treated equally in this country.

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