Housing minister urged to remove restrictions on tenant in situ scheme
Members of the public have pleaded with housing minister James Browne to remove restrictions on the tenant in situ scheme, with families saying they are desperate, afraid, and will fall into homelessness.
Correspondence released through the Freedom of Information Act shows that over 60 letters were sent to the housing minister since the start of the year about the tenant in situ scheme.
The scheme itself allows local authorities to buy up rental properties if a landlord is selling up, but additional restrictions introduced in March told councils to focus on prioritising families, older people, and people with disabilities.
Some local authorities have since been forced to put applications on hold, including Cork City, due to a lack of funding to the scheme.
In one letter, a father writing to Mr Browne explains how he has been living in a rental property with his wife and 10-year-old daughter for the last decade.
Plea to reconsider
'Our landlord informed us he's selling the property, but would be willing to sell it to the council as we fit the criteria needed for the tenant in situ scheme,' he said in the letter.
However, with changes to the scheme, he says his family no longer qualify for tenant in situ.
'I understand the scheme isn't perfect, but to make it even more difficult, if not impossible, for most people to avail of it makes absolutely no sense to me — especially in the middle of a housing crisis,' he wrote.
'We've just worked hard and tried to give our daughter a good life and somewhere to call home.
But with these changes, and the confusion around what funding is available for the tenant in situ scheme, we will be put in a situation where we will have to tell her the home she's known her whole life is no longer her home
'It's a conversation no father or mother wants to have with their children,' he added.
The father said he could not 'for the life of me' understand why restrictions were introduced to the scheme.
'I would absolutely beg you to reconsider the proposed changes to this scheme, and also get the funding in place so it can continue to help families,' he wrote.
Housing minister James Browne has received letters from desperate families who are afraid they will fall into homelessness: Brian Lawless/PA
In response to the letters, the department urged individuals to engage with their local council to help them find suitable accommodation, saying it is a matter for 'individual local authorities to identify suitable acquisitions in line with local circumstances and their social housing allocations policy'.
The restrictions placed earlier this year mean that councils are no longer permitted to buy any property where a tenant is facing eviction due to a landlord selling on a property.
Previously, any individual in receipt of housing supports, such as HAP or the rental accommodation scheme (RAS), was able to ask a council to buy the property and turn it into a social housing unit.
Read More
Councils criticised for spending too much refurbishing rental properties
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Irish Examiner
5 hours ago
- Irish Examiner
Mick Clifford: The USA is adopting a totalitarian attitude to free speech
Donald Trump's toxic orbit is now reaching directly into Ireland. Most recently, there were two specific areas in which this has come to pass. Last week, it emerged that officials in Coimisiún na Meán, the media regulator, could face potential restrictions on entry to the USA if the American administration deems that they are interfering with 'free speech' by regulating social media. This is an unprecedented move. Ordinarily, such visa restrictions might apply to corrupt officials in a dictatorship or rogue state. Now, in Trump's America, officials in a friendly European country could be banned from entry for simply doing their job. 'Free speech' is a movable feast for Trump and his followers. For instance, soon after assuming office in January, Trump declared that the Gulf of Mexico should heretofore be known as the Gulf of America. The PA news agency refused to do so, referring instead to its long-standing style book that determined it was still the Gulf of Mexico irrespective of what Trump might wish it to be. The king was not pleased. PA reporters were banned from the White House and from accompanying him on Air Force One. There have been similar instances where Trump and the gang he surrounds himself with have had issues with free speech. Elsewhere, Jess Casey reported this week in the Irish Examiner that new US visa screening protocols require international students travelling on a J1 visa to adjust privacy settings on all their social media profiles to public. The US state department announced it would now 'conduct a comprehensive and thorough vetting, including online presence, of all student and exchange visitor applicants' under the new guidance. This will allow immigration officials to check the social media of students in case there is anything incriminating on their devices. And what could be incriminating in Trump's America? Anything that is deemed to conform to the kind of broad policies that the current authoritarian administration is pursuing. So, if, for instance, a young student has something on their phone that might show support for Palestinians who are being massacred, that can be deemed contrary to US interests, and the student told to turn around and go home. Similarly, entry might be denied if the student is displaying anything that is supportive of the rights of minorities, such as the transgender community. As of now it is unclear if a student has, for instance, a screenshot or meme portraying Donald Trump as a buffoon whether this would be incriminating enough to warrant exclusion. One way or the other, the restrictions suggest that the USA is adopting a totalitarian attitude to any kind of speech that might be contrary to Trump's precious, and sometimes, venal, interests. So much for free speech. As with all totalitarian regimes, there is a different attitude to any kind of free speech that might fit neatly into the category of propaganda. Thus, Trump is a believer in social media companies having a free rein over what appears on their platforms. What could be incriminating in Trump's America? Anything that is deemed to conform to the kind of broad policies that the current authoritarian administration is pursuing. Picture: David Dermer/AP In the first instance, it suits him and his politics. He is an expert manipulator of the medium, where he is free to retail lies, distortions, and abuse at will. His current level of power in the USA implies he will brook no attempts to curtail that ability. So it was that Mark Zuckerberg's Facebook announced soon after Trump's inauguration that it was no longer deploying fact-checking on the site. So social media is destined in the USA to remain a fact-free environment. Beyond that, the 'free speech' that Trump believes in extends to far less protection of minors on social media. This leaves boys and girls exposed to material relating to sex and violence with practically no restrictions. The reasoning behind such a free-for-all is that any restrictions depress traffic on the sites, which in turn hits the profits for the social media companies. And right now, all the owners, the tech bros, are happy to play supplicant to Trump in order to ensure they remain in his favour. Now word is being conveyed across the Atlantic that regulators in Europe, and particularly Ireland where so many of these companies have offices, would be well-minded to follow the lead of the Americans or they will, in terms of visa restrictions, be treated like corrupt officials from a foreign rouge state. You could not make it up. This week, it was also reported that 25% of US companies that had previously supported Dublin Pride have now pulled out. The move is directly due to the hostility Trump has towards anything resembling diversity or inclusion. Whether or not that has anything to do with his own opinion is irrelevant. Politically, he views it as a seam to mine, and that's all that matters to him. So to be seen to be supporting minorities is, in the eyes of Trump and his acolytes, a sign of disloyalty to the king. Dublin Pride, and all the Pride festivities are important annual events. They celebrate the LGBT+ communities but also act as a reminder of how these, and other, minorities were treated at a darker time. Three years ago, however, the Pride festival showed a degree of intolerance that was not in keeping with the sentiment it espouses. Following a series of programmes on RTÉ Radio 1's Lifeline on the subject of gender dysphoria, Pride announced that it was dropping the broadcaster as a media partner. The programmes had been balanced, which required including voices from a small group opposed to the philosophical position adopted by most in the LGBT community towards gender dysphoria. Such diversity of opinion was unacceptable to the organisers of Dublin Pride, so RTÉ was dropped. Today, the level of intolerance increasingly displayed in the USA towards minority communities is of a far greater order, and is being accepted by elements of society out of nothing more than fear of reprisals from Trump and his acolytes. That such an atmosphere is now washing up on these shores through US companies running away in fear from Dublin Pride should be an issue of concern for everybody. We have problems in this country, mainly concerned with inequality, particularly in relation to housing. Those are nothing like the issues that have pertained in the USA for decades, and which led to an atmosphere where an individual like Trump could actually be elected to office, not once, but twice. Vigilance is required to ensure we don't succumb to the toxic waves from Trump's America that can wash up on these shores in various forms. Read More Donald Trump delays US TikTok ban again
Irish Times
10 hours ago
- Irish Times
Delays to housing plan could push it back to September
The Government is discussing a delay to publishing its new housing plan until after the summer. The plan, which is to replace the last coalition's Housing for All approach, was due to be published during July, but it looks as though it could slip into September before it is made publicly available. Senior Government figures said the new plan could not be completed until the publication of a review of how the State is going to fund its multi-year infrastructure delivery programme, which is now expected in late July. That review – of the National Development Plan (NDP) – is expected to add many billions in allocations for roads, public transport, the electricity grid and water infrastructure, among other things. But it needs to be completed before Minister for Housing James Browne publishes the coalition's roadmap for how it will hit its housing targets. READ MORE The potential to push back publication of the housing plan until September is said to have been discussed at a meeting of the Cabinet housing subcommittee. [ No 'special exemptions' for students under latest Rent Pressure Zone system, James Browne says Opens in new window ] While some Government sources believe there is concern about pushing back its publication, others say a delay would have support around the Cabinet table. A final decision on what to do regarding the publication date will have to be made in the coming weeks. It is unlikely that the plan can be unveiled in August, when much of the political system shuts down for the summer break, many civil servants are on leave, and the Dáil is not sitting. A spokeswoman for Mr Browne would not be drawn on a specific date for publication of the report, beyond saying it would be as soon as possible after the publication of the NDP review, which in turn will cover all public capital investment to 2035 and allocate funds from the Apple tax case and AIB share sales, among other sources of capital. Mr Browne's spokeswoman said work on the plan is 'at an advanced stage'. [ The Government is finally showing some political courage in tackling the housing crisis Opens in new window ] 'The next housing plan is due to be published after the publication of the National Development Plan as a matter of priority,' she said. 'This sequencing is necessary, as the housing plan must have certainty around the investment plans and capital programmes for the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage before the next plan can be finalised and published.' She said Mr Browne was not waiting for publication of the new plan before pushing forward with measures, including on Rent Pressure Zones reform, planning extensions and exemptions. The previous government also encountered delays when it was seeking to bring forward Housing for All under the former minister for housing, Darragh O'Brien. That document was due to be launched in July 2021, but was ultimately pushed back to September of that year, which drew criticism from the opposition.
The Journal
12 hours ago
- The Journal
Historic vote sees MPs back legalising assisted dying in England and Wales
ASSISTED DYING IS a step closer to being made legal in England and Wales after the proposed legislation cleared the House of Commons in a historic vote – albeit with a narrower majority. More than 300 MPs backed a Bill that would allow terminally ill adults with a life expectancy of less than six months to end their lives. Yes campaigners wept, jumped and hugged each other outside parliament as the vote result was announced, while some MPs appeared visibly emotional as they left the chamber. Others lined up to shake hands with Kim Leadbeater, the Bill's sponsor through the Commons. Kim Leadbeater has been the MP behind the assisted dying bill PA PA Last October, the Dáil voted to 'note' a report completed by the Oireachtas committee on assisted dying. That vote was not to approve recommendations in the report but rather 'take note' at the fact that the report had been completed and published. The Assisted Dying Bill was tabled by People Before Profit TD Gino Kenny in 2020. Kenny lost his seat in last year's General Election. In a post on social media today, Kenny described the Westminster vote as a 'monumental decision'. He described assisted dying as a 'profound issue that transcends politics and needs careful navigation through legislation'. He called on the Irish government to 'take note and prepare a legal framework for voluntary assisted dying'. 'Compassion and dignity has won,' he added. Meanwhile, Northern Ireland's Department of Health said it has no plans to propose new laws in the Stormont Assembly. 'In Northern Ireland, assisting or encouraging suicide or killing someone on compassionate grounds remains a criminal offence,' it adds. Commons vote Despite warnings from opponents around the safety of a Bill they argued has been rushed through, the proposed legislation has taken another step in the UK parliamentary process. MPs voted 314 to 291, majority 23, to approve Leadbeater's Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill at third reading. Advertisement This means the Bill has completed its first stages in the Commons and will move to the House of Lords for further debate and scrutiny. Both Houses must agree the final text of the Bill before it can be signed into law. Due to the four-year implementation period, it could be 2029 – potentially coinciding with the end of this Government's Parliament – before assisted dying is offered. Encouraging or assisting suicide is currently against the law in England and Wales, with a maximum jail sentence of 14 years. Supporters of assisted dying have described the current law as not being fit for purpose, with desperate terminally ill people feeling the need to end their lives in secret or go abroad to Dignitas alone, for fear loved ones will be prosecuted for helping them. British Prime Minister Keir Starmer remained supportive of the Bill, voting yes today as he had done last year. Campaigners in Parliament Square, central London, ahead of the vote PA PA Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch voted no and urged MPs to vote against the legislation. She described it as 'a bad Bill' despite being 'previously supportive of assisted suicide'. Today was the first time the Bill was debated and voted on in its entirety since last year's historic yes vote, when MPs supported the principle of assisted dying for England and Wales by a majority of 55 at second reading. Labour MP Leadbeater has argued her Bill will 'correct the profound injustices of the status quo and to offer a compassionate and safe choice to terminally ill people who want to make it'. During an hours-long date, MPs on both sides of the issue recalled personal stories of loved ones who had died. Conservative former minister James Cleverly, who led the opposition to the Bill in the Commons, spoke of a close friend who died 'painfully' from cancer. He said he comes at the divisive issue 'not from a position of faith nor from a position of ignorance', and was driven in his opposition by 'concerns about the practicalities' of the Bill. MPs had a free vote on the Bill, meaning they decided according to their conscience rather than along party lines. The proposed legislation would allow terminally ill adults in England and Wales, with fewer than six months to live, to apply for an assisted death, subject to approval by two doctors and a panel featuring a social worker, senior legal figure and psychiatrist. Public support for a change in the law remains high, according to a YouGov poll published on the eve of the vote. The survey of 2,003 adults in Britain suggested 73% of those asked last month were supportive of the Bill, while the proportion of people who feel assisted dying should be legal in principle stood at 75%.
