Mary Moran (Labour) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Minister of State, Deputy Jan O'Sullivan, for taking this matter. I raise the case of a young family, and this case is relevant to the broader question of housing. The family has been struggling to find suitable rented accommodation in Dundalk where a landlord will accept rent allowance. They have been having this problem for a number of months. I have been in contact with the family daily as they have recorded the difficulty they have experienced in finding accommodation. The family has only been on the housing list in recent months on foot of various factors and therefore cannot be assisted by Louth County Council as the father was in employment until December. The problem has escalated since then.
Currently, the family has €374 coming in. The family knew this was coming up and has been preparing and searching. The mother has put an advertisement on daft.ieseeking a response but has had no success. The family members met the homelessness officer in our area to discuss their situation as they were nearing the time when they knew they would have to move out of their rented accommodation. I was shocked to hear that they were told the mother would be put into one hostel and the father into another while the children would be taken into care. That was confirmed again for me today. This is just pushing a problem from one agency to another. Something must be done to make rent allowance more acceptable to landlords. The only solution that has been presented to the family is clearly a drastic one.
The family has become homeless in recent days and now faces the threat of their children being taken into foster care. That is not the intended use of foster care. These are excellent parents and want to continue to be. It is very sad that a family should have to be split up over something that is out of their control. The mother is recovering from recent and extensive surgery and needs accommodation that is conducive to meeting her medical needs. A hostel would not be appropriate.
While I hate to use the word "crisis", there is a housing crisis, not only in County Louth but nationally. There are people in serious circumstances, both financial and medical, who are waiting year after year for accommodation. The Minister of State is well aware of the housing issues and I commend her on the work she has done. I ask that she look into this sad and unfortunate case as well as the general situation to see if there is something that can be done to help people relying on rent allowance to find accommodation.