Sinn Féin TD for Galway West, Mairéad Farrell, has strongly criticised the government’s decision to restrict the Tenant in Situ scheme, an important measure to prevent homelessness.
It comes as the government has issued a circular to local authorities implementing all of the restrictions to the scheme that were proposed last month, including the deprioritising of singles and couples without children, the insistence on RTB registration and valid Notice of Termination; exclusion of reasonable refurbishment costs; and the two-year rule whereby the HAP tenancy must have been in place for at least two years. There is also a requirement for the Council Chief Executive to sign off on every single purchase.
Speaking in response to the decision, Teachta Farrell said: “I am aghast at the decision from the government to restrict the Tenant in Situ scheme further.
“Over the past two years, the housing crisis in Galway has gotten to the worst point I have seen it in my time as a public representative. In that time, the Tenant in Situ scheme has been one of the only sources of hope for people who are facing a no-fault eviction notice and the only thing that has kept many households out of homelessness.
“This decision is only going to drive homelessness figures up. This is at a time when emergency accommodation in Galway is full, and councils are unable to come up with any affordable private rentals for HAP tenants.
“We know that residential build commencements are down this year in Galway, so councils need the power to buy properties to help fill the gap in social housing delivery. The government should be allocating more money to homelessness prevention, not less.
“I am calling on the government to immediately reverse this decision, and I am calling on John Connolly, Hildegarde Naughton, and Noel Grealish to stand up to their government colleagues and advocate for their constituents on this.
“If Galway’s TDs accept this decision silently, they are complicit in forcing every household with a no-fault notice of termination into homelessness.”
