HAP housing in Galway at crisis point – ‘Housing is not a luxury, it is a fundamental human right'
Today at 06:52
Over the past four Locked Out of the Market reports from the Simon Communities of Ireland not one property that accepts the Housing Assistance Payment (HAP) has been available in Galway City.
The Locked Out of the Market reports are issued quarterly, with each report containing a snapshot study conducted over three consecutive days within a specific time frame.
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Sunday World
5 days ago
- Sunday World
Election candidate owes thousands to young mum he charged extra to rent his property
Mother of three Kirsty Fitzsimons says she was told to fork out extra for a 'top-up' to the agreed rent costs from Dermot McGuckin. Names to be blurred out on Fitzsimons rent extorsion talking to Alan Sherry in Mullingar Gary Ashe,21/5/2025 Dermot McGuckin says the RTB hearing went ahead without his knowledge An election candidate and landlord who called for more social and affordable housing for struggling families has refused to pay thousands he owes to a young mother after the Residential Tenancies Board (RTB) found he had illegally withheld her deposit. Dermot (Diarmuid) McGuckin (58), who is originally from Dublin but living in Fossa, Co Kerry, was ordered by the RTB to pay €3,280 to Kirsty Fitzsimons for illegally withholding her deposit for a property he rents out in Tallaght, Dublin. As well as running as an Independent candidate in the local elections in Killarney, McGuckin has set up firms in diverse industries, including home care for the elderly, tourism, cleaning services and communications. He is also a taxi driver and was elected chair of the Irish Taxi Federation in Killarney. McGuckin further describes himself as a public relations consultant, and a number of years ago set up The Bellarose Foundation, which he said provided cleaning and care services to women going through chemotherapy. Kirsty Fitzsimons with documentation for the RTB He also organised a Great Santa Cycle in Killarney to raise funds for what he called the Bellarose Youth Development Fund. As well as not returning his tenant's deposit, McGuckin was also getting Kirsty to secretly pay an additional €830 per month on top of the €1,950 lease agreement. Kirsty said: 'When we contacted him about renting it, he said, 'I have someone else who is highly interested and it is between you and them. They have offered x, y and z above the lease, what can you offer'? 'I have never seen anything like it – and I've been renting since 2017,' she said. Kirsty said she felt like she had no option but to pay the extra to secure the rental property which is in Forest Lawns in Kingswood. News in 90 Seconds - May 30th 'I had three children and was desperate for a house for the kids and there was no alternative. He had €1,950 down as the lease agreement but was actually charging €2,780. 'When I told the HAP [Housing Assistance Payment scheme] about this they said to stop paying him extra rent. After that, he was contacting me at all times about the top-up. He was actually the most difficult landlord I ever dealt with in my life.' When McGuckin ran in the local elections in Kerry he claimed one of his main concerns was 'more social and affordable housing' for struggling families. Kirsty said her experience with him was 'completely different'. Kirsty Fitzsimons tells our reporter her story 'He said he was for families and all that. If he was, he wouldn't be charging outrageous amounts of rent for young families. I think it was ridiculous. All he cared about was the money. 'I'm waiting for the deposit nearly two years. I think he thought I'm young so he'd be able to take advantage.' In the end, Kirsty only stayed in the house for six months before leaving, but when she did leave in July 2023, McGuckin refused to give her the €2,780 security deposit back. McGuckin has owed the money to the young mother-of-three for almost two years but had point blank refused to give it back, didn't bother turning up to the RTB hearing and has not responded to Ms Fitzsimons' calls and messages since. Things were even more stressful for Kirsty after she received bad health news recently. 'I was going through all this with the RTB and him, and then I found out I had a BRCA1 gene for breast and ovarian cancer. I have to get a double mastectomy and an ovariectomy.' The RTB ordered McGuckin to pay the €2,780 deposit and an additional €500 in compensation. However, when contacted by the Sunday World, McGuckin claimed that he wasn't even aware there had been an RTB case against him. 'To have a court case [RTB hearing] without me being there is very f**king harsh. But I don't know, I'd have to see what notes I have on it and bring them up. 'To go ahead and have a hearing without me having any input whatsoever, surely there's a law against that?' Kirsty is now facing the prospect of surgery A spokesperson for the RTB confirmed there is indeed a law against that and rubbished McGuckin's claims that they would schedule the hearing without informing all parties. 'By law, we must give notice of a dispute hearing. We will only schedule a case for a hearing when we have contact details for all parties,' they said. The spokesperson said the RTB contacts all parties to confirm contact details before sending them hearing notices. As well as claiming he was unaware of the RTB case, McGuckin tried to justify not giving back the deposit and made a series of claims which Kirsty said were outright lies. 'There was a lot of reasons why she didn't get it back at the time,' McGuckin claimed. Asked what they were, he said: 'Damage to the property and there was some stuff gone from the property that was there when she moved in.' Asked for examples of either damage or missing items, he couldn't provide even a single one. 'Ah now, I have a list there I'd have to go through. As I said, this is the first I've heard about this,' he said. Kirsty said McGuckin was lying about damage to the property and any missing items. 'It's complete and utter nonsense. I can't believe he said there were things missing. I've never been accused of stealing before. He can't tell you what was missing because there was nothing missing.' She said every other landlord she has dealt with, including estate agents, have always given her glowing references. McGuckin also claimed he hadn't heard from Kirsty since she left in July 2023. 'I'm at a loss of what to tell you. I haven't heard from her since she left. I think once maybe she got in contact after she left.' However, Kirsty said that was another lie and she has contacted him numerous times since by phone and by email, but he has ignored all communication. Asked if he was willing to give her back her deposit now, McGuckin said: 'I'd have to look in to that. I know it was withheld for a reason and probably multiple reasons, I wouldn't be holding onto anything you know... if everything was OK, there'd be no issue.' Kristy said she was insulted that McGuckin would try to say she was at fault for not getting her deposit back. 'I wouldn't have gone to the RTB if what he was saying was true and wouldn't be doing an interview about it. He didn't inspect the house before we moved in. He got the previous tenant to leave a key under the mat. He also didn't inspect it when we moved out. He had no bill for any supposed damage he claimed was caused, he can't name a single thing missing,' she said. When the Sunday World asked McGuckin why he was looking for an additional €830 in payments on top of the €1,950 lease, he initially said: 'Em, no, whatever was on the lease agreement would have been what was charged.' However, when we pointed out Kirsty had messages showing he was in fact demanding €2,780, he said: 'I can't remember off-hand. I mean you're after getting me completely off hand on this one.' Landlords can legitimately ask for payments on top of HAP payments if the HAP payments don't meet the rent amount, but cannot ever ask for payments on top of what is stated on the lease. The property was also in a rent pressure zone with strict limits on how much rent could be increased by from one year to the next.
Irish Independent
29-04-2025
- Irish Independent
Over €8 million was paid out to private landlords by Sligo County Council in 2024
Under the Housing Assistance Payment Scheme (HAP), €5,029,950 was paid over last year while €2,703,103 made its way to private landlords under the Rental Accommodation Scheme (RAS). A further €469,265.07 was paid to private landlords under the long-term Social Housing Leasing Scheme in 2024. The figures were revealed at the April monthly meeting of Sligo County Council following a motion from councillor Declan Bree who described the sums involved as colossal. He said the government like its predecessors has no hesitation in putting millions of euro into private landlord pockets through the HAP and RAS schemes but when it came to providing funding for the construction of local authority houses, or when it came to providing affordable housing, it was a different story. 'The report we have received points out that last year this Council paid landlords over €5 million under the Housing Assistance Payment (HAP), in addition to €2.7 million under the Rental Accommodation Scheme (RAS) and almost a half a million euro under the Long Term Social Housing Leasing Scheme. A total of €8.2 million. This is a huge transfer of public money to private landlords. 'A similar amount was paid out the previous year. At a national level we know that in excess of €1 billion was paid out last year to corporate landlords and speculators through these government subsidy schemes. 'Indeed, it has to be pointed out that since 2015, the HAP Scheme has been the primary source of accommodation provided by government for people seeking housing. And every member of this Council know that the majority of the tenants who avail of the HAP scheme are also compelled to pay significant top-ups to landlords as the maximum monthly rent limits payable for a household is insufficient to cover the cost of rents. 'The free-market approach to housing and accommodation by the present government and the previous Fianna Fail-Fine Gael-Labour governments has led directly to the housing crisis we have today. As with any crisis it is working people, those on low and average incomes who suffer the most. Buying your own home is now beyond reach for a generation of young people. 'The only real solution to the housing crisis is a massive public house-building programme run and controlled by the local authorities along with a realistic investment in affordable housing. Rent subsidy schemes like HAP, that cost over €1 billion a year, are of no of long-term value to the State. It is the private rental sector corporate landlords who accumulates assets and profit through such schemes. Whereas investing funding in houses constructed by local authorities will provide public housing for this and future generations. 'In fact, only six months ago, the Dail Committee on Public Accounts in a report said that the HAP Scheme, the RAS Scheme and long-term leasing Scheme do not represent value for money for the taxpayer, do not provide the State with long-term assets, and are not effective long-term solutions to social housing needs. It must be now clear that the only real solution to the housing crisis is a massive public house-building programme run and controlled by the local authorities along with a realistic investment in affordable housing,' he said.
Irish Independent
25-04-2025
- Irish Independent
HAP housing in Galway at crisis point – ‘Housing is not a luxury, it is a fundamental human right'
Today at 06:52 Over the past four Locked Out of the Market reports from the Simon Communities of Ireland not one property that accepts the Housing Assistance Payment (HAP) has been available in Galway City. The Locked Out of the Market reports are issued quarterly, with each report containing a snapshot study conducted over three consecutive days within a specific time frame.
