Latest news with #SimonCommunities
BreakingNews.ie
2 days ago
- Business
- BreakingNews.ie
Number of homes accepting housing assistance payments drops 22% in three months
The number of available rental properties that accept housing assistance payments (HAP) has dropped by 22 per cent in the second quarter of the year, a new report shows. The Simon Communities of Ireland's (SCI) quarterly Locked Out of the Market report, from June, shows that just 32 properties were available to rent within the scheme. Advertisement This is a drop of nine properties, down from 41, since March. Ber Grogan, executive director at the Simon Communities of Ireland, repeated her call for an updated HAP limit. The housing assistance payment (HAP) scheme is a social housing payment made to landlords by local authorities, and tenants pay a contribution to their local authority. The report found 978 properties were available to rent at any price within the 16 areas surveyed over three dates in June. Advertisement This is a 17 per cent reduction from the 1,178 properties available in the June 2024 Locked Out report. There were no properties available in eight of the 16 areas, including Athlone, Cork city centre, Cork city suburbs, Co Leitrim, Limerick city centre, Sligo town, Portlaoise, and Waterford city centre. Four of the 16 areas saw a reduction in the number of HAP properties available since the March 2025 report. These include Dublin city north, Dublin city centre, Dundalk and Kildare. Advertisement This lack of availability was across all household categories within standard or discretionary HAP limits. Discretionary HAP limits include homeless HAP, the increased rate of HAP for people experiencing homelessness. The supply of properties within HAP limits are predominantly in Dublin, with a total of 22 properties in Dublin. Just five of the 13 areas outside of Dublin had properties available to rent within HAP limits. Advertisement These included Dundalk, Galway city suburbs, Galway city centre, Kildare and Limerick city suburbs. In Dublin, the discretionary rate allows up to an additional 50 per cent on the standard rate, but this is limited to 35 per cent elsewhere in the country. Nathan, a Cork Simon service user, said: 'Most of the time you ring a place, it's gone. You get fed up of every day doing it and then you just give up for a while, depressed out of me head. 'You can't get out of it (homelessness). I don't seem to see a way anyway. And it's not for want of trying. A bed, a bathroom and a kitchen. Basics. Oh, I'd love it. Advertisement 'Come and go as you please.' Sligo town and Portlaoise had the lowest number of properties available to rent, with just seven and two properties available in each area, respectively, across the three days. Of the 16 areas, 10 saw a reduction in the number of properties available to rent, including Cork, and Dublin, Dundalk and Kildare. Four of the 16 areas saw an increase in the number of properties available to rent, including Athlone, Galway city, Limerick city and Sligo town. Ms Grogan said the findings of the report must act as a 'wake-up call for policymakers'. 'Do they care that the rental sector continues to fail those reliant on HAP? Simon certainly cares,' he said. 'With only 32 properties available under HAP across 16 areas and entire counties without a single option, people entitled to housing support are being pushed further into homelessness and essentially, left behind. 'The rental market is failing those most in need. 'We urgently need accelerated delivery of social and affordable housing, meaningful reforms to HAP rates, and a targeted strategy to prevent homelessness. 'We must ensure that hope is restored for those people who are locked out of access to this accommodation option. 'The Simon Communities of Ireland has been calling for updated HAP limits for many years. 'We welcomed the ombudsman's report on HAP and will continue to call for reform. Budget 2026 will give the opportunity to address this cause of homelessness before our next Locked Out of the Market report.' Meanwhile, the figures show that there were four properties available to single person/couple households through a standard HAP rate. These four properties were located in north Dublin, Dublin city centre, Galway city and Kildare. There were an additional 12 properties available for single person/couple households within discretionary HAP limits. There were no properties available to couple/one parent households with one child through a standard HAP rate. There was one property available to couple/one parent households with two children through a standard HAP rate. This property was in Limerick city suburbs. There were five properties available through discretionary HAP rates, and an additional 10 that overlapped with properties available to families with one child. The five unique properties were in Dublin city centre, Dundalk and Kildare. Ms Grogan said: 'It's particularly concerning given that one parent families are over-represented in the thousands of families and children experiencing homelessness. 'Does anybody care that nearly 5,000 children are experiencing homelessness? Simon cares.'
RTÉ News
2 days ago
- Business
- RTÉ News
Number of properties available under HAP scheme fell last month
The number of properties that were available to rent within the discretionary rate of the Housing Assistance Payment (HAP) scheme last month fell to 32. It is a decrease of nine properties (-22%) since March, according to the latest Simon Communities quarterly Locked Out of the Market report. Over three dates last month, 16 areas were surveyed which showed that 978 properties were available to rent at any price. That is a 17% fall from 1,178 properties that were available in June 2024. Last month, there were no properties available in eight out of 16 areas. These included Athlone, Cork city centre, Cork city suburbs, Co Leitrim, Limerick city centre, Sligo town, Portlaoise, and Waterford city centre. Four of the 16 areas saw a reduction in the number of HAP properties available compared to March. The four areas in question were Dublin city north (seven properties), Dublin city centre (two properties), Dundalk (one property), and Kildare (one property). Sligo Town and Portlaoise had the lowest number of properties available to rent, with just seven and two properties available in each area, respectively. As seen in previous Locked Out of the Market reports, the supply of properties within HAP limits were predominantly in Dublin. Last month, 22 of the total 32 HAP properties were in the capital. Just five of the 13 study areas outside of Dublin had properties available to rent within HAP limits. These included Dundalk (three properties), Galway city suburbs (one property), Galway city centre (one property), Kildare (four properties), and Limerick city suburbs (one property). The report considers the availability of properties within both the standard and discretionary HAP limits in 16 areas for household categories including single people, couples, couple/one parent families with one child and couples or one parent families with two children. There was a lack of availability across all household categories within standard or discretionary HAP limits. Discretionary HAP limits includes 'homeless HAP', which is the increased rate of HAP for people experiencing homelessness. In Dublin, the discretionary rate allows up to an additional 50% on the standard rate; this is limited to 35% elsewhere in the country. Last month, there were no properties available to couples or one parent households with one child through a standard HAP rate. There were 10 properties available through discretionary HAP rates. One property was available in a suburb of Limerick city to couples or one-parent households with two children through a standard HAP rate last month. There were five properties available for people in this category through discretionary HAP rates, and an additional 10 that overlapped with properties available to families with one child. Executive Director at the Simon Communities of Ireland, Ber Grogan, said the over representation of one-parent families in the thousands of families and children experiencing homelessness was particularly concerning. She said the latest findings must act as "a wake-up call" for policymakers. The report features Cork Simon service user Nathan who said he was "fed up" with trying to secure a rental property. "Most of the time you ring a place, it's gone. You get fed up of every day doing it and then you just give up for a while; depressed out of me head. You can't get out of it [homelessness]. "I don't seem to see a way anyway. And it's not for want of trying. A bed, a bathroom and a kitchen. Basics. Oh, I'd love it. Come and go as you please," he said.
Irish Examiner
2 days ago
- Business
- Irish Examiner
No rental homes available in Cork for families on housing assistance, Simon report finds
There is not a single property in Cork City and its suburbs that families on the housing assistance payment (Hap) can rent, as they are all too expensive. The Simon Communities of Ireland's latest Locked Out of the Market report for June shows just 32 properties across 16 areas of the country were available to rent within the higher discretionary rate of Hap, a 22% decrease since March. A majority of these homes were in Dublin, with none at all in Cork Cty, Limerick city centre, Sligo town, Portlaoise, and Waterford city centre. Furthermore, fewer than 1,000 properties were available to rent at any price, showing the dearth of properties available on the market even for those not relying on Hap to keep a roof over their heads. The charity's executive director Ber Grogan said these figures must act as a wake-up call for policymakers. 'Do they care that the rental sector continues to fail those reliant on Hap? Simon certainly cares,' she said. People entitled to housing support are being pushed further into homelessness and essentially, left behind. The rental market is failing those most in need. Charities in this sector have long called for reform of the Hap system. It sees households sourcing private rented accommodation but being eligible for the support, whereby the local authority pays the landlord but the household pays a weekly rent contribution to the local authority. Critics have said the limits in place for Hap have not kept pace with inflation. Those in receipt of it also are not eligible to remain on the social housing list for a more adequate, permanent home, as being housed under Hap means their 'social housing need' is considered to have been met. There is a higher rate of Hap for those experiencing homelessness, but the Simon Communities report found few options, even for those in receipt of 'Homeless HAP'. Included in the report is an account from Nathan, a Cork Simon service user. 'Most of the time you ring a place, it's gone,' he said. "You get fed up of every day doing it, and then you just give up for a while — depressed out of me head. You can't get out of it [homelessness]. I don't seem to see a way anyway. And it's not for want of trying. A bed, a bathroom, and a kitchen. Basics. Oh, I'd love it. Come and go as you please. Hap limits increase depending on the size of the family. The report found there were no properties at all available to couples or one-parent households with one child at a standard rate. There were just 10 properties available through the higher discretionary rates, all of them in Dublin. Similarly, there was just one property available to a couple or one-parent household with two children on the standard rate, which was in the suburbs of Limerick city. Five were available on the discretionary rate, in Dublin, Dundalk and Kildare. Ms Grogan added: 'We urgently need accelerated delivery of social and affordable housing, meaningful reforms to Hap rates, and a targeted strategy to prevent homelessness. 'We must ensure that hope is restored for those people who are locked out of access to this accommodation option.' Read More Housing Assistance Payment driving people to homelessness, charity warns
Irish Times
2 days ago
- Business
- Irish Times
Homes available to rent on State HAP social scheme fall by nearly a quarter
The number of homes available to rent under the State's main social housing support scheme has fallen again by almost a quarter, according to new research. The Simon Communities of Ireland (SCI) published its latest Locked Out of the Market report on Friday, which surveyed the number of properties available to rent across 16 different areas over three days in June. It found just 32 properties were available to rent within the discretionary rate of the Housing Assistance Payment (HAP) scheme, a decrease of nine properties, or 22 per cent, since March 2025. It found 978 properties were available to rent at any price, a 17 per cent reduction from the 1,178 properties available in March. READ MORE The area with the biggest reduction in availability at any price was Dublin city centre, with 52 fewer properties than in March, followed by Dublin city north which was down 47 homes and Cork city suburbs, which was down 23 homes. Ber Grogan, executive director at the Simon Communities of Ireland, said the findings 'must act as a wake-up call for policymakers'. The HAP scheme is a social housing support and it is paid by local authorities directly to landlords, with tenants then paying a rent contribution to the local authority. Those approved for HAP must find a property on the private rental market that is within the HAP rent limits of their local authority. [ 'The stress is inhumane': Second Dublin council pauses scheme to buy homes of tenants at risk of homelessness Opens in new window ] Local authorities have the flexibility to go above the HAP rent limits by up to 35 per cent if the tenant can't find accommodation within the limits. This discretionary rate goes up to 50 per cent in Dublin under the Homeless HAP scheme. Despite this flexibility, there were no properties available in eight of the 16 areas surveyed – these include Athlone, Cork city centre, Cork city suburbs, Co Leitrim, Limerick city centre, Sligo town, Portlaoise, and Waterford city centre. Some 22 of the 32 HAP properties available were found in Dublin, reflecting the increased flexibility there under the Homeless HAP scheme. Just five of those 32 properties were available under the standard HAP limits, the remaining 27 were only available when using discretionary HAP rates. Studio apartments were not included in the survey 'due to the inherent inadequacy of studio apartments as long-term housing solutions', the report stated. It noted there were 27 studio apartments available within HAP limits during the study period. Only two of these properties were available within standard HAP limits. Of these 27 studio apartments, 26 were in Dublin, and one was in Cork city suburbs. Reacting to the findings, Ms Grogan said Ireland's rental market was 'failing those most in need'. 'We urgently need accelerated delivery of social and affordable housing, meaningful reforms to HAP rates, and a targeted strategy to prevent homelessness,' Ms Grogan said.
Irish Times
09-07-2025
- Business
- Irish Times
Welfare payments fall short for decent standard of living, Oireachtas committee hears
Social welfare payments are inadequate to provide a minimum essential standard of living, the Oireachtas committee on Social protection heard on Wednesday. Speaking at the committee, Michelle Murphy, research and policy analyst at think tank Social Justice Ireland , said, 'even after the provision of social welfare payments, in 2024, there were almost 630,000 people in Ireland living below the poverty line'. The committee met to discuss pre-budget submissions with relevant organisations. 'Government should commit to benchmarking core social welfare rates to 27.5 per cent of average weekly earnings. At a minimum, this requires an increase of €25 in core social welfare rates in 2026,' said Ms Murphy. READ MORE Social Justice Ireland has proposed several measures to support those on lower incomes, including increasing child benefit by €50 per month and introducing a cost-of-disability allowance of €20 a week. Executive director of the Simon Communities of Ireland Ber Grogan told the committee that the State had the highest number of homeless people in emergency accommodation at the end of May. [ Children's charity Barnardos issues bulletin on cost of living: 'Dreading next winter's bills' Opens in new window ] She said it can be estimated that an additional 24,000 people are 'experiencing hidden homelessness', such as those couch surfing, sleeping rough, living in cars or inadequate housing. She listed several recommended measures, which she called 'pragmatic asks'. These included increasing rent supplement in line with existing tenancy rates and increasing core social welfare rates by at least €16 a week. Alone chief executive Sean Moynihan said: 'With once-off supports set to be withdrawn from Budget 2026, targeted supports are now essential' to prevent increasing poverty among older people. He noted that while Social Justice Ireland places the poverty line at €323.99 per week for a one-adult household, the maximum weekly rate for the State Pension is €289.30 for those under 80. Does the Government lack a clear plan for how to spend our money? Listen | 36:58 Alone's pre-budget submission includes recommendations to increase the pension by at least €22, to bump up the fuel allowance for older people by at least €20 and increase the living-alone allowance by at least €10. Catherine Cox, head of communications and policy at Family Carers Ireland , noted that while the Coalition has committed to fully funding the carer guarantee , geared to ensure that every family carer has access to a consistent level of support, only half of the budget has been provided for this. She called on the Government to 'provide the outstanding €3.3 million towards the carer guarantee in this year's budget'. Family Carers Ireland has also asked for the carer's allowance and carer's benefit to be increased to €325 a week and to allow carers above 66 years to receive the full allowance while in receipt of the State pension. At present, carers in receipt of that pension can receive only half the standard carer's allowance rate following a measure introduced in 2007. Irish Foster Care Association chief executive Corrine Hasson said a recent survey of its members found 78 per cent of foster carers are using their income to cover expenses for their foster child. She said the recent announcement that foster carers are to be included in the Back to School Clothing and Footwear Allowance 'fell short of expectations' as it involves means testing for the yearly payment. She called on the Government to 'ensure foster carers receive financial supports that reflect the growing financial demands of caring for a child', including removing means testing conditions for the back-to-school allowance. Lily Power, policy officer at The Wheel , the Republic's national association of community and voluntary organisations, said that an uncertain global context, increasing inequality, polarisation and climate breakdown will make policymaking particularly difficult for 2026. Among The Wheel's recommendations are to provide funding on a full-cost recovery basis to ensure services can continue to be delivered by the voluntary and community sector, and a move towards provision of multiannual funding for the sector on a phased basis.
