April 16, 2013

Sinn Fein spokesperson on Housing Dessie Ellis TD has called on the Minister to work to develop a binding code of conduct to avoid rental tenants be evicted in the event of repossessions. He made his comments during a debate requested by him in the Dáil today.

Deputy Ellis continued:
“Across the state and especially in Dublin we are facing a crisis within a crisis. This is the problem of landlords who are not paying their mortgages and in doing so are jeopardising the housing of potentially thousands of people.

“In the last few weeks I have personally dealt with five families in Dublin who are facing eviction due to the repossession of their rented homes. The lenders want to sell and wash their hands of the property, in some cases forcing the landlord to evict the families before they take over.

“I spoke to Emma, a mother of two from Drimnagh: 13 years on waiting lists afraid to leave her home to go to speak to the council because she might come home to find that she has been evicted.

“The long term solution is to provide sustainable public housing which is not endangered by the whims of the market, lenders or profit driven landlords. The more immediate solution is to force lenders to enter into a code of conduct in relation to tenants, especially those with an assessed social housing need who are particularly at risk of homelessness in the event of eviction.

“Banks need to honour tenancy agreements in conjunction with a strategy from Local Authorities to ensure that no tenant is left homeless. As we face increased repossessions due to government policy this will only become worse if nothing is done.”
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Sinn Féin Housing spokesperson Dessie Ellis TD has called on the Minister for Housing Jan O’Sullivan to meet with families who are struggling with their shared ownership mortgages. He made his comments following a Dáil briefing by a group campaigning for these families.

Deputy Ellis said;

“I have written to the minister asking her to focus her attention on the issue of shared ownership mortgages and the difficulty many families who took part in this scheme are having at present.

“I have raised these issues before with her and she is aware of the problem but nothing has been done to support these families and aid them in keep their homes or moving on without taking on huge insurmountable debts.

“People who took on shared ownership mortgages are now tied to homes. In many cases these homes are no longer suitable to their needs or are unaffordable but due to negative equity and the refusal of local authorities to recognise their liability they can do nothing but wait for things to get worse, as hours are cut, wages are cut and the cost of living goes up as well as their rent.

“A group has been set up with whom I met today. It includes people who are directly affected by the problems in the shared ownership scheme, their families and their representatives. They have requested a meeting with the minister and Sinn Féin wholeheartedly supports that called.

“I have been working with families locally to support them but a real state-wide strategy is needed. This is not a large group of people but they are facing real problems and the state must do what it can.”

Sinn Féin Housing spokesperson, Dessie Ellis TD, has called on Dublin City Council to begin an immediate and focused campaign of house inspections following news that 483 out of 589 flats inspected on the North Circular Road were found to be in breach of regulations.
Deputy Ellis continued:
“Unfortunately, this is not surprising. I have worked with countless people living in very poor private rental conditions. Inspections and enforcement are just not good enough to force landlords to change. The lower end of the private rental market is ripe for those who want to exploit people, and that is exactly what is happening across Dublin. It is not surprising, but it is wholly unacceptable in this day and age.
“Dublin City Council says it is undertaking an intensified inspection campaign, but it must work faster and harder to identify accommodation which is below standards and enforce penalties or improvements as soon as possible. This is not a new problem and I have little doubt many more properties will be found in breach.
“Another important element of this is the support of the Rental Tenancies Board which does not receive any state funds but does contribute to local authorities like Dublin City Council. The board is an excellent mechanism for tenants of unscrupulous landlords to report them and to see that there is change. However, this is harder and harder as it is having to make cuts. The state must support bodies which help tenants to get their rights respected and to ensure that standards are met.”
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Sinn Féin Housing spokesperson Dessie Ellis has welcomed the setting by the Minister for Housing of a deadline to end long term homelessness and rough sleeping. He made his comments following the announcement by Jan O’Sullivan that the deadline would be reset to 2016 given the failure to live up to a previous commitments for the year 2010.

Deputy Ellis said;

“The target originally set at 2010 was achievable and many good steps were taken but the political will was not there in Fianna Fáil to see through project. Groups like Focus Ireland in 2011 called for the date to be reset to 2013. The government has now decided on 2016 as the date. This aim could be a lot closer to being achieved if proper focus was given to housing but I welcome this new deadline.

“Focus Ireland believes from its research that there are roughly 5000 homeless people in this state. Many of these are under 18.

“People who experience homelessness are more likely to have physical or mental health difficulties and many were formerly in care, all are in this situation because of a lack of appropriate accommodation to meet their needs. They are victims of a failure by our society.

“Much work is still to be done in order to end homelessness and the government will need to make serious strides in providing housing which is tailored to suit the varied needs of people coming out of homelessness. Funding has been cut for homelessness services and emergency accommodation is at breaking point with organisations working with the homeless operating at absolute capacity, this situation cannot continue.

“A new deadline is a good step but proper funding of services for homeless people, provision of aftercare for those leaving care or prison as well as the provision of permanent housing is what will end homelessness. These are all in the government’s power to do if they truly commit themselves to this new deadline.”