Seanad debates
Wednesday, 4 May 2022
An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business
2:00 pm
Rebecca Moynihan (Labour) | Oireachtas source
I raise the issue of the tenant in situscheme, which I have raised previously in the House. The Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage has given directions to local authorities that they are no longer allowed to buy second-hand properties and have to focus on one-bedroom properties and apartments. While on paper that can seem very laudable, it does have the unintended and very dangerous consequence of people in receipt of social supports through the housing assistance payment, HAP, or the renal accommodation scheme, RAS, and who are living in rented accommodation being evicted from their rental accommodation and the local authority is not able to buy it. This is a particular concern because while it has operated imperfectly, it has still saved many families from homelessness. We know that people coming from the private rental sector, particularly those who are on social supports, where HAP limits have not been revised since 2016, are the number one type of family who are entering homelessness.
We get the figures for homelessness at the end of every month and, last month, 1,238 families entered homelessness, which was 58 more than the previous month. Since the lifting of the eviction ban, we have seen family homelessness increase and come back again. While I understand somewhat the rationale for that direction to local authorities and the limits placed upon it, the Minister should make an exception for tenants in situ. It has operated as an imperfect method of homelessness prevention, especially for families and children, and we do not want to see children entering homelessness and spending their school years living in precarious housing.
I also raise the issue of the very concerning reports we are hearing from the US Supreme Court in regard to overturning Roe v.Wade. I say this in the context of the rowback on abortion rights generally, what is happening in Poland and Texas, and certain state legislatures rowing back on access, for example, Oklahoma and Tennessee, where people from Texas had been going. It is very concerning for women in the US, many of whom are very frightened, in particular low-income women. Having an absolute ban on abortion does not stop abortions but makes them unsafe and ensures low-income people are particularly affected. I send my solidarity in particular to women in the states that will be affected – Texas, Oklahoma and Tennessee - and to women in Poland. As we know, the march of progress is not always forward and it does roll back. We always need to be vigilant in making sure reproductive rights are protected worldwide.
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