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MINISTER OF STATE for housing, Damien English has said the government’s housing strategy is working despite record numbers recorded as homeless last month.
Figures for April show there are now 10,305 people recorded as homeless – including 6,484 homeless adults and 3,821 children.
It is the third month-on-month increase in the number of people living in emergency accommodation.
Speaking on Morning Ireland on RTÉ Radio 1, this morning the junior minister said he accepted the figures were consistently rising but insisted the government’s “solutions were working”.
“Nobody will be happy with these figures, we don’t want any of these families living in emergency accommodation – be it a hotel or family hub,” he said.
“On the face of it I know the impression looks – because the numbers stay quite high and some months it has slightly increased – it looks as if it’s not working… but it is now working,”
“If we stick to this, in what we’re trying to do on the rebuilding Ireland, we will have a solution for everybody but it takes a little bit of time.
“There’s a lot of movement of families through emergency accommodation and our focus is trying to prevent people from actually entering emergency accommodation,” he added.
English said that while hundreds were leaving homelessness every month, hundreds more were still joining it.
“The difficulty is, and I do admit, that every week and every month we might find a couple of hundred homes for people [but] at the same time, the same number of families are presenting here.
“I accept [...] that figures look extremely high and that they are increasing every month but if you go behind those figures our solutions are working and working for many families.”
Rent
Housing charities including Focus Ireland and Simon Communities have called for restrictions on landlords including rent certainty for tenants to be introduced to stop renters losing their homes.
English said legislation to increase the power afforded to the Residential Tenancies Board (RTB) was currently going through the Dáil.
The RTB has limited investigative powers in relation to the renters but has a role as a mediator between landlords and tenants, if requested, when disputes arise.
“We are bringing through new legislation to do with tenants rights in relation to the rental market through the Dáíl at this moment in time – it’s looking at many different interventions to protect tenants and help them stay in their homes.
“We are making a lot of changes to the rental market and we keep tracking the legislation here and we’ll monitor that,” he said.
“But what we’re doing here is not just giving longer tenancies, we’re giving greater protections and more powers.”
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”Our solutions are working…….for the haves and have mores’
Why do they keep turning the focus to the landlords and tenants. We wouldn’t need landlords so much if the government got it act together and provided social housing, simple as that.
@Jim Buckley Barrett: They are ideologically opposed to social housing, and are COMPLETELY ignoring solutions that are working elsewhere
First, i’m surprised anyone can understand what this gombeen english is saying. Secondly, does he realize that numbers going up means more people are homeless.
@Adrian: racist comment
@Gus Sheridan: How is it?
@Gus Sheridan: his name is English….not where he is from
Ha ha … I’d hate to see them if they weren’t
@McNulty Jimmy: must be on a diet of Yes Minister in that office.
But it’s not wor…
Ssh just tell them it’s working
But they won’t bel…
Ssh just keep telling them
But …
Ssh just stick to your lines
OK. Hey everybody, it working
Now you get it. Good boy.
What planet is he on?
@M Stuart: More likely what drugs is he on…
@M Stuart: Planet FFG
@Neil Farrell: even with drugs you’ve a better insight.
Any chance of dealing with the cause to stop the flow instead of trying to stick a finger in the dam?
@Eoin Finnega:
Yep – like more incentives for keeping small landlords in the business.
People actually gIve this guy votes, madstuff..
NO THERE NOT!
This reminds me of my first algebra lesson.
The teacher said the solutions were working but nobody else could see it.
@Logan Shepherd: was your teacher right?
@CrabaRev: The teacher said he was right.
@Logan Shepherd: Most Maths teachers were right. When you have no understanding of a problem and someone tells you the solution it’s very difficult to credibly argue with them.
@CrabaRev: So are you saying that the government solutions are working?
@Logan Shepherd: Don’t dare criticise FG and the housing debacle, not in front of Crabarev. Nobody but himself understands the problem, FG’s “solutions” are working well. Anyone homeless lives in “adequate” accommodation. According to Crabarev.
@Dave Doyle: I kinda got that when the word argue appeared in the response.
@Logan Shepherd: On the article last night here on the homeless figures, i pointed out that the EU use a method named ETHOS to determine and define homelessness. FG will only apply 3 of the criteria of ETHOS when complilng the figures. Were ETHOS applied as it should be, we would see the actual figures. Then the BS about “our solutions are working” would be seen for the spin it is.
Leo has no bother calling consultants liars and telling us we should ignore them but will stand by his ministers who lie right to our faces.
Just sounds a lot like “the daily beatings will continue until moral improves”!
Our solutions are working for vulture funds & likes of Facebook google not working for ordinary . People’s disposable income is a lot less this year than any other . Now Damien go back to leo your spin doctor & comeback when reality kicks you .
Yeh its working alright. Thats why the numbers keep going up.
Muppet Central.
@Philip Mulville: corrupt country
With success like that, how does one measure failure?
Top tip Damien: in this case the number getting smaller is better.
He’s got some funny idea of ‘working’!
Not too long til we get a chance to let FF and FG know how much they’ve messed up!
I honestly can’t believe he has made this comment is he completely deluded we have a housing crisis that will take decades to fix and all fg ff want to do is in courage private landlords 23 billion will be given to private landlords in the next 30 years fg stance is typical of their capitalist policy we need huge investment in social housing and a government who will take on the banks and Europe and not be told that they are the good boys in the class
@Charlie Jameson: You do realise that most of the rest of Europe provides social housing to some extent. FG are idealogically opposed to providing social housing or making any kind of meaningful intervention in the housing market.
He’d really want to stop taking whatever substance he’s on.
There are record numbers of people being supported by the government in temporary accommodation whilst they wait for their permanent government accommodation.
Some in the temporary accommodation choose to stay there until the preferred location for their permanent government accommodation becomes available.
When will the excuses stop? Ireland has a National emergency in homelessness and housing (&health)& Government policies have not adequately tackled these emergencies so they will continue to deteriorate further until we get a Government capable of dealing URGENTLY with these National emergencies!
Why hasn’t FF used their strong position as Government enablers to put pressure on FG Government for ADEQUATE URGENT response to our own National emergencies,after all they are a Minority Government!?
@Nuala Mc Namara: By the way private rented accommodation is not social housing,there needs to adequate social housing stock built &empty houses refurbished for social housing.Why is empty social housing to be refurbished stuck in planning stages for so long,why can’t it be fast tracked like Government intended to do for Data Centres?!?
@Nuala Mc Namara: here’s some social housing awaiting refurbishment
https://galwaybayfm.ie/galway-life/drone-footage-of-fana-glas-area-in-ballybane/
The minister for propaganda
A useless bluffer.
@Ronaldo Blanc: has he sacked Simon Harris for gross incompetence yet?
Has he been at the entinox
Liars & bluffers
@Thomas Sheridan: This particular git really takes the biscuit though. Anytime he has been on TV he defends the indefensible whether he was on Vincent Browne or the tonight show or even prime time. I have watched him closely and he either always trys to deflect or talk over people. He sums up ffg to a tee.
Just signed up another 2.8k in Killarney, this week and Sockey launched a new boat for the Mediterranean, things are looking up!!
He’s been studying the Comical Ali guide I see.
Yeah the Cuckoo fund clients are thrilled keep it up – Don’t mind the homeless there are no votes in that group for the Wealth fund Blueshirts
Minister for propaganda
Even their solutions, pathetic as they are, are grossly unfair on people trying to save & buy a house. LO buys up a whole development for social housing using taxes from workers who can’t afford one themselves.
Nice perk to get a 5 bed A rated house for nothing https://connachttribune.ie/galway-city-council-plans-to-purchase-new-52-home-estate-052/amp/
What a liar
HOW SO
Sure they are not taxing the rental on REITS rental companies even though most of the directors live abroad and are not subject to dividend Withholding tax.
Shows how completely out of touch they are with reality. Solutions are NOT working for anyone trying to rent or get on property ladder. Its almost to get rental properties anywhere in main cities and counties within ordinary people’s financial limits
Medication not working
Remember at the start of our big recession?
First we were told, “ we have a plan”
Then we were told “ our plan is working”
Then the country went bust.
And this social housing refurbishment
https://connachttribune.ie/work-begins-e8-estate-million-regeneration-008/amp/
The number of houses coming in stream is increasing. You cannot rely on the government to give you a house or apartment so you need to buy one. ‘I can’t afford one!’ Well, get a second job or move out of the city or go to Dubai and save for a deposit. ‘I want to leave near me ma’. Well, you shouldn’t have had those 2 kids with a waster
@Virgil: or toughen it out & get handed a free 5 bedroom A rated new house near Galway city centre
What most don’t seem to realise is that he is correct, they are working exactly as designed. Move the vast majority into the private rental market, subsidise private landlords, the majority of which will soon be vulture funds paying zero tax. Homeless is an acceptable (to them) side affect of policy. So yes working as planed. Against the Irish people, against the moral good, not what they were elected and paid to do, but working as planned. Any idiot that votes for them deserve what they get and if your not a millionaire, if your “middle class” and managing to pay a mortgage, they’re coming for you too, you just haven’t realised it yet.
Total lunatic
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