‘The stress is inhumane': Second Dublin council pauses scheme to buy homes of tenants at risk of homelessness
risk of homelessness
due to the lack of funding for the tenant-in-situ scheme has risen to more than 160, after a second local authority in
Dublin
paused applications.
The scheme allows local authorities to buy properties that host tenants facing eviction because the landlord is selling.
It applies to tenants who have received a notice of termination, are deemed at risk of homelessness and who qualify for social housing support such as the Housing Assistance Payment (HAP) or the Rental Accommodation Scheme (RAS).
New restrictions were applied to the scheme this year, including a stipulation that the home must be in the HAP or RAS system for at least two years.
READ MORE
There have also been lengthy delays in the issuing of Government funding to the scheme, as Minister for Housing
James Browne
conducted a review of its terms.
In June,
Dublin City Council
confirmed it had paused all new applications to the scheme as its 2025 budget had already been allocated. The council had 104 applications to the scheme by March.
Fingal County Council
has now confirmed it is in the same position and will not be proceeding with any more purchases under the scheme.
In a letter sent to
Sinn Féin
TD for Fingal West Louise O'Reilly, the local authority said its budget for 2025 'has been exhausted' after it made 32 acquisitions under tenant in situ, with one remaining sale going through the conveyancing process.
This compares to 121 tenant-in-situ acquisitions made in 2024.
'There were 60 tenant-in-situ applications that were paused at the beginning of the year and did not proceed due to limited funding,' the council said.
[
More than 100 families in Dublin at risk of homelessness as tenant-in-situ applications paused
Opens in new window
]
One of those applications was by a woman and her young child who are living in rental accommodation in Balbriggan. Ms O'Reilly said the woman's child was due to start school in the area in September but now they are at risk of homelessness.
The woman received a notice to quit in August 2024 and applied for the tenant-in-situ scheme in March. Ms O'Reilly said the woman understood she was accepted for the scheme until she learned last month about the council pausing applications.
'The stress she is under is inhumane. She has also lost valuable time that she could have been searching for somewhere to live while believing that the tenant-in-situ purchase was ongoing,' Ms O'Reilly said of her constituent.
'The Government has now literally removed the only homeless prevention measure that my constituents had. It is beyond heartbreaking to see the human impact of this decision on families and especially on children,' she said.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Irish Examiner
43 minutes ago
- Irish Examiner
Irish tech consultancy firm Konversational expands to US with opening of New York office
Irish technology consultancy firm Konversational is set to expand its growth globally, with the Dublin-headquartered company opening its first office in the United States. The move is anticipated to generate over €5m in revenue and create up to 40 new roles at its US headquarters in New York within the first year. The firm currently employs 80 IT professionals across six locations, including Dublin, London, Paris, Nantes, Zurich and Munich. Founded in 2020, Konversational said its latest move represents an important juncture for the company, signalling its intent to break into the US market, with ambitions to capitalise on the high demand for customer service technologies. The launch comes less than 18 months after its expansion into France, Germany, and Switzerland. As an Elite partner of ServiceNow, Konversational enables companies to increase efficiencies, automate services and provide an enhanced customer service offering as part of large-scale digital transformation projects. Since its establishment, it has accelerated rapidly through the ServiceNow accreditation system, attaining Elite Partner status in less than 18 months and retaining the designation for over three years. John Gilleran, Co-CEO of Konversational, said, 'Expanding into the United States is a significant milestone for us and one that we have been building towards since opening our Dublin headquarters less than five years ago. "The US market alone represents a tremendous growth opportunity for Konversational. We are looking forward to bringing our award-winning market-leading services to the US market and to supporting clients achieve commercial ambitions, underpinned and supported by the global leading technology solutions of ServiceNow.' Richard Guy, Co-CEO of Konversational, said: 'Our expansion into the United States represents a natural evolution of Konversational's growth journey. The scale of our success in Ireland, the UK and Europe has built a strong foundation for us to now bring our proven methodologies, tools, and talent to the biggest market in the world. "What excites us is the opportunity to work with forward-thinking US organisations that are ready to innovate and elevate their customer experience strategies.' Aidan McKenna, Regional Director, Americas, at Enterprise Ireland added: 'Enterprise Ireland supports Irish companies such as Konversational to enter and scale in the US market, the number one market internationally for digital tech exports. "Konversational has been hugely successful across Europe and now brings this success to the U.S. market to enhance customer experiences and accelerate digital transformation for U.S. companies.'
The Irish Sun
4 hours ago
- The Irish Sun
All-Ireland or all-inclusive? Grim reality of 2-night Dublin stay vs 4-star sun hol laid bare in ‘blatant gouging' alert
DUBLIN's hospitality industry has been slammed for sky-high hotel, food, and drink prices, with a seven-night all-inclusive package in Turkey or Spain now costing less than a two-night stay in the capital. Thousands of hurling fans from Advertisement 4 Croke Park will host two huge All-Ireland finals in the coming weeks 4 Dublin's hospitality industry has been slammed for skyrocketing prices Credit: Getty Images - Getty 4 A trip to Antalya in Turkey could be cheaper than a 2-night stay in Dublin city Hotel rooms in Research has found that an all-inclusive week in the sun will cost roughly the same - or even less - than what Advertisement He told 'And every summer, the Government watches on, tut-tuts, and then does absolutely nothing to ensure that we're not here again in a year's time. 'Whether it's people travelling from Donegal, Kerry, Cork or Tipp for All-Ireland final weekends or people travelling to Dublin for 'This is an industry that was heavily supported by the taxpayer, especially during the Advertisement A study by My holiday at TUI Magic Life Beldibi All-inclusive deals to the Costa Brava in The research is based on it costing €300 per person for a hotel in Dublin city centre over the two weekends. SKYROCKETING PRICES Add to that an average of €115 per person for two light lunches and two evening meals, a €60 per person drinks kitty, €55 per person for transport by car (including tolls and city parking), and a €100 match ticket bringing the total to €630 per person. Zoe Harris, Chief Customer Officer at On the Beach, said: 'With hotel prices in Dublin skyrocketing for the All-Ireland weekend, it's no surprise fans are tempted by alternative options. Advertisement 'When you can swap a packed Luas, long queues and steep city costs for seven nights of sun, sea, and all-inclusive relaxation at a lower price, it becomes a very easy decision. 'We've seen a real appetite this summer for all-inclusive escapes, and GAA fans don't have to miss a minute of the action, with many Irish bars across Europe showing every kick, point and goal.' EXTRA DEMAND PRESSURE Research by the Irish Sun has found that there is little difference in hotel prices in Dublin between the two All-Ireland weekends and on separate weekends in August and sky-high hotel prices in the capital have just become the norm all-year round. "This feels like Groundhog Day. Here we go again – every summer, the issue of hotels price gouging and ripping off tourists raises its head." Pearse Doherty A report last year by Failte Ireland found no evidence of price gouging during big events in Dublin, with cities around Europe exhibiting similar pricing patterns. They found: 'Many hotel markets, including Dublin's, simply struggle to facilitate the extra demand pressure that comes with large-scale events.' Advertisement It noted that during the DUBLIN 'NOT ATYPICAL' On the same night the following week, occupancy was down to 83 per cent and the average daily rate was €200. The report said: 'Dublin is not atypical in this regard. For many hotel markets, including that of Dublin, available hotel stock cannot facilitate the extra demand pressure that comes with an event of such magnitude.' Dynamic or 'surge' pricing — when rates are adjusted to reflect market conditions including supply and demand, the cost of production and competition — was first discovered in the airline sector, but is commonly used in accommodation. 'When you can swap a packed Luas, long queues and steep city costs for seven nights of sun, sea, and all-inclusive relaxation at a lower price, it becomes a very easy decision." Zoe Harris Chief Customer Officer at On the Beach It has since now moved into concert ticket market after Advertisement Hotel rates often quoted in the media, as the Failte Ireland report stated, are usually for those booked at short notice amid exceptionally high demand. It said: 'While the pricing of the last remaining rooms can be headline-grabbing, the vast majority of rooms are cheaper.' 4 A report last year by Failte Ireland found no evidence of price gouging during big events in Dublin Credit: PA:Press Association
Irish Times
5 hours ago
- Irish Times
The Irish Times view on the State's national debt: essential to recognise the risks
The National Treasury Management Agency (NTMA) has been the subject of some unfortunate headlines in recent days, following the payment of some €5 million to a bogus account from one of its subsidiaries, the Irish Strategic Investment Fund. It goes without saying that the decisions and systems which allowed this to happen must be investigated and all efforts made to get the money back. There is a message here, too, for the public about the increasing sophistication of financial scams. The revelation came as the NTMA published its 2024 annual report and its headline results for the first half of this year. Here, the news is broadly positive. While Ireland's national debt is still high in cash terms – at around €218 billion at the end of last year – it has fallen as a share of national income. Also, the cost of servicing the debt remains at a relatively modest €3.2 billion each year and is unlikely to increase much in the near future. This reflects a limited amount of fund-raising by the State in recent years due to the strong state of the public finances and also the fact that much of the debt is locked in for a significant period of time at fixed interest rates. So far in 2025, the NTMA has issued €5.25 billion in new borrowings – up to recently the running total at this stage of the year would typically have been twice that amount. The NTMA deserves credit for its management of the national finances and particularly for locking in as much as possible of State borrowings during the period of exceptionally low international interest rates. READ MORE It also has €30 billion in cash reserves to call on, enough to act as a safeguard if trouble hits. This cash could help the State through a temporary period of difficulties. However, as we saw after 2008, structural changes in the public finances –in particular permanent alterations in tax trends – still require money to be found elsewhere. Here, the obvious risk for Ireland is a fall-off in corporate tax revenues. The strength of the public finances and the cash pile in the NTMA coffers give Ireland time to reduce its exposure to this risk. But it does not remove it.
