Monthly report on tenant in situ scheme needed as HAP collapses
Labour housing spokesperson Rebecca Moynihan said reports published today highlight that the Housing Assistance Payment has effectively collapsed.
Following an overreliance on the private sector for social housing, Senator Moynihan said a monthly report is needed to ensure Local Authorities are working as effectively as possible for people who need homes.
Senator Moynihan said:
“Reports published by the Simon Communities of Ireland and the Society of Chartered Surveyors Ireland show that the HAP scheme has effectively collapsed. For too long, Fine Gael and Fianna Fáil have been devoted to private market intervention for social housing. This approach has failed.
“The State should be capable of providing a safe and secure home for every person living here, but this government has failed to set ambitious targets for social housing which must be built at scale.
“The two reports published show that we have entered chaos mode in the housing market. The word crisis no longer goes far enough to describe the insecurity many people are facing across the country when it comes to keeping a roof over their head.
“Since October Labour has called for Local Authorities to map out people at risk of homelessness in the private rental sector to be compiled into a report for the Housing Minister. Unfortunately, many Local Authorities sumply aren’t stepping up to protect people on the coalface of the crisis. To address this, Labour is calling for a monthly report of the tenant in situ scheme to prevent any potential crisis for those at risk.
“The writing is on the wall. As we enter a new year, we see this government is failing to tackle the greatest societal challenge we face. This is no time for business as usual, no time for PR conferences, no time for spin. We have seen as a nation what the State is capable of when it intervenes to protect people. It’s time for this Government to step up and take its responsibility to protect people from homelessness seriously.”