Young mum worried she’ll be homeless
A YOUNG mother-of-three is fearful that she will become homeless with a matter of weeks as she has been given notice to leave her current home because it’s been sold and she is ineligible for a County Council house because her income is deemed to high.
Amy Gabbett told this newspaper she was on the local authority housing list but was subsequently removed from it.
‘I was on the housing list and I’m on my own with three kids,’ she said.
‘I’m now on the verge of losing my home and I don’t know what I’m going to do,’ she added.
‘My little one will also be making her Communion.’
Ms Gabbett, who lives in the Whitebrook area of the town, pointed out that she is working and while she receives maintenance for her children, the cost of renting in Wexford is beyond her means.
‘I just want a home for my family that’s all but the local authority said I was over the limit,’ she said.
She said she got her current job two years ago and prior to that worked in a shop for eight years.
‘Now I am working 19 hours and I receive FIS (Working Family Payment) and Wexford County Council say I’m ineligible.’
When contacted about the matter Wexford County Council’s Communications Officer, David Minogue, said: ‘The principle behind determining what rent is reasonably affordable for any household is the relationship of household income to the cost of providing suitable rented accommodation in the private sector so that the percentage of net income required in order to pay for accommodation costs would not exceed 30 per cent.’