Rónán Mullen (Independent) | Oireachtas source

I support the ringing call by Senator Jim Walsh for a debate on issues related to housing. The housing crisis in many cities and the apparent inability of local authorities to deal with it are very troubling and something that deserve our immediate attention. As a result of rising rents in the residential sector, a family that does not have an income earner is not able to keep up with rising rents. A family depending on social welfare payments cannot rent a two-bedroom house or an apartment going for €900 or €1,000 per month. It is disturbing to have to deal with families who report their problems. They feel frustrated where in some cases they are given the runaround from one authority to another.

I was contacted by the mother of a young family in Galway city where the owners of the small house she had been renting for years wanted to sell it. Her family has been on the county list for seven years and were given a timeframe of ten years to wait for a house. They have children sitting State examinations this year and risk being homeless at this very difficult time or being placed in unsuitable emergency accommodation. Reading through what this lady sent me, one can feel her frustration. She talked about being approached by the landlord who wanted to sell the house in order to give her a period of time to vacate. It was thanks to Threshold that she learned the notice to quit she had been given was invalid. She is confronted by an ultimatum to leave without any comfort from the local authority that she will have suitable accommodation for her family.

This story is not unique. The housing lists in many local authority areas are hopelessly long and the problem is compounded by rising rents. Some of the poorest families are being caught in a trap and we need urgent solutions. Either the Government raises the rent allowance cap or brings more houses into the local authority system. Senator Jim Walsh has raised the point and I support hm fully in the issues he has raised. We must debate the matter urgently.