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HOUSING MINISTER EOGHAN Murphy has said that not all homeless families living in hotels and B&Bs will have been moved to more suitable accommodation by July.
Although conceding that Simon Coveney’s self-imposed deadline will not met, Murphy said there had been progress.
Speaking at the announcement today at the launch of Focus Ireland’s annual report for 2016, he said:
“As of the end of May, there were just under 650 homeless families being accommodated in commercial hotels and B&Bs in the region. Now, that is too high a number – of course it is. But it is a considerable reduction on the 871 families at the end-March that were in the same situation.
Now while the delivery of some of the accommodation solutions will stretch beyond the 1 July deadline, it’s a considerable achievement to be able to have a clear picture on the pathway out of commercial hotels for all of those families.
He noted that he had received the commitment of all four local Dublin authorities that the 650 families would be in their new accommodation or notified in writing about where they will be going by the end of June.
Murphy said that there had been an increase in the numbers of families presenting homeless over the past month. He said the Housing Department was working to ensure that these families were given “certainty” about where they were going.
Murphy refused to set any new deadline on when hotels would stop being used to house families, but said that the deadline would be extended “by a few weeks”.
The Government’s housing action plan Rebuilding Ireland contains a commitment that by “mid-2017″ hotel and B&B type accommodation for families will only be used “in limited circumstances”.
Coveney has repeated the commitment several times over the past year.
The use of commercial hotels for housing homeless families skyrocketed in recent years as the number of homeless families shot up, particularly in Dublin were the problem is at its worse.
The Dublin Regional Homeless Executive – which manages homeless services across the Dublin region – has been working towards the goal of ending the use of commercial hotels, which are highly costly.
Over the past number of months, the Housing Department, the DRHE and Simon Coveney have all refused to say the deadline will not be met. Homeless campaigner Peter McVerry and other charity officials and workers had expressed strong doubts that it would be met.
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My son was just telling me that one of his teammates who lost is part time job in March, just got 250 into his account today on top of the 203 he typically gets, and he’s soon due a Christmas bonus. When he was working his part time job in a petrol station job he used to bet no more than 150 euro. He is a 21 year old who is more than fit enough to find himself another part time job but instead he’s sat at home profiting big time. I’m by no means against the unemployment payment and I thinks it’s been critical to those who need it, but it’s scary to think how many others out there are doing the same as the lad I mentioned above.
@Michael Fielding: I’m not sure there are many other part time jobs that he could get at the moment but I get your point in that he has no incentive to even try look for one. Imagine how it would be if Sinn Fein got their way and everyone was on a minimum PUP of €350+ a week!
@Michael Fielding: I agree it’s far too broad but for every person like that lad who is getting ‘too much’ there are 100s who need this to get by and it is still a lot less than some were making. I would guess/hope that they considered it more expensive to look at it case by case than just paying standard 350 across the board.
@Michael Fielding: we are screwed, live in a hand out state
@DK: I can’t speak on behalf of the whole country, but there’s plenty available here in Cork. My son works part time in a dunnes stores and he said they can’t hire enough people coming into Christmas, and I’d hazard a guess that’s the case for most of their busy branches. Places like Musgraves etc are always actively taking on too. The opening of the restaurants and pubs will most likely open up some waiting and bartending opportunities, similarly with the opening of gyms and leisure centers. If he really wanted one I’d be confident he got could get one, but what incentive does he have to do so when he’s getting just as much, if not more, sitting at home?
@Michael Fielding: that’s lie. Petrol station remained opened so he wouldnt got PUP.
@DK: I’d beg to differ on that one! I’ve been trying to fill a number of positions over the past 6 weeks and the level of applicants is appalling, knowing the sheer number of people on layoff in my industry. I’ve also had great difficulty getting people to come back to work. All taking great advantage of the PUP. I fully support it for those in need, but it’s being abused.
They failed to pay me for my first 3 weeks. Today, they only paid me one of those weeks (the 1st week), leaving me still short of 2 full weeks of arrears. Completely incompetent.
@Brian Ó Dálaigh: I’m owed a few weeks but will sit it out as I’d imagine they are kind of busy.
@Paul Furey: If they made the payment, they could have saved themselves from making extra work for themselves by paying it all. They paid me for my first week of arrears, but not the 2nd or 3rd. They literally just made things busier for themselves as now I WILL be contacting them daily until it’s rectified.
@Brian Ó Dálaigh: had to sign on twice. First I was completely without work took one week to get sorted. Got that week’s arrears. Second time I was reduced to part time and it took 3 weeks to get sorted, didn’t get any of that.
@Paul Furey: bear in mind, the longer you leave it and the closer to 2021 it gets, the less likely you are to receive your payment.
@Brian Ó Dálaigh: I’m due 3 weeks payments in total and haven’t got any today. Hopefully will get it in next week or week after. I’m behind on bills due to missed payments and now getting the debt collectors letters from gas and electricity. With a baby due any day is just so stressful.
@Sam Glynn: I spoke with DSP today, and they said that today was the only day arrears were being paid. If you didn’t get it today, you’re not getting it at all. Sorry, Sam.
@Brian Ó Dálaigh: it seems the report on the news suggests different to what I just wrote. Not sure why the DSP agent told me otherwise.
Meanwhile spare a thought for the hardworking student nurses who worked hard throughout this pandemic. They got a clap from the public but not a cent for their efforts. This is positively shameful
I have to say when I got it , I applied on the Wednesday and got my first payment on the Tuesday , that was during the first lockdown. It really was a lifesaver. I was on it six weeks
Thanks Leo
I think it’s disgraceful. All the health are workers got was a ’round of applause’. They worked over & above, through their annual leave, sacrificed seeing their families so that other families could be taken care of. The very least the Minister for Health could offer them is to pay their annual retention fee to the NMBI of €100 per nurse. They certainly deserve that much.
that’s very generous of the government, so a lady with a children today would get 700 euro and 280 child allowance, and another 700 double week next week. Super stimulus for Christmas. Well done government giving back to those who need it.
@Padraig Carey: and nothing for student nurses who worked so hard throughout this pandemic. Why are we not challenging our government on their behalf
Everyone moans about what others are getting and legally entitled to. Very significant numbers of these moaners would take the moaney money and we would never hear a word about it.
have your say