Minister defends ‘two strike’ housing penalty
‘Spurious rejections affecting 70k homeseekers’
EOGHAN Murphy has defended plans to hit families who reject two offers of social housing with a five-year suspension, saying ‘spurious’ claims leave over 70,000 others waiting even longer for a home.
In the Dáil yesterday, the Housing Minister confirmed proposals from local authorities to extend the current suspension period from one year to five, for those who reject two offers in the space of 12 months.
And he defended the plan from Opposition criticism yesterday, saying that families with genuine concerns over their offers would be shown ‘flexibility’.
Mr Murphy said he decided to proceed with the plan on the recommendation of local authorities. He said in response to a question from People Before Profit TD Richard Boyd Barrett: ‘There are more than 70,000 people waiting for their home. Deterrent: Eoghan Murphy These homes are being built now and we want to make sure there are no unnecessary or unreasonable delays... What we are talking about here are not refusals for legitimate reasons, as the deputy says.’ He added: ‘When people reject a social housing home for spurious reasons, the more than 70,000 peofrom ple Deputy Boyd Barrett is talking about, who have been waiting for so long, have to wait even longer.’
Opposition parties urged the minister to reconsider the proposals and asked him to bring the plans to a meeting of the Oireachtas Housing Committee for further discussion.
Labour housing spokeswoman, Jan O’Sullivan, said: ‘We are talking about people who are desperate and who only refuse because they know that if they accept the third offer, they are stuck in this unsuitable place for the rest of their lives... They are not going to refuse for spurious reasons.’
Sinn Féin TD Eoin Ó Broin said he had ‘no difficulty if somebody for frivolous reasons rejects two offers and receives a punishment’. But added that ‘there is more to this than the minister is being told’. He cited examples his constituency, where people were rejecting offers because they were outside school catchment areas, away from special needs supports services, away from family support networks or without proper transport infrastructure.
Mr Murphy replied: ‘With respect, many deputies come to me with cases which seem to be genuine hardship cases, and they bring them to me for genuine reasons, but when we actually dig into them, there is more to them than meets the eye... This is about lengthening the suspension period to make it act as a proper deterrent for those who are doing this for spurious reasons, not those who have legitimate difficulties in finding accommodation that will meet their needs.’
Meanwhile, the Housing Minister confirmed that the promised referendum to enshrine water services in public ownership will not take place in May as there was difficulty with the wording. Comment – Page 12 james.ward@dailymail.ie
‘More to it than minister is told’