Cork woman in emergency accommodation despite landlord offering to sell house to council
Dáil Acmodation, Told Evicted Emergency Cork In Was Is Now And File Picture Woman
A Cork woman is living in emergency accommodation despite her landlord offering to sell her home to the local authority, the Dáil has been told.
Sinn Féin finance spokesperson Pearse Doherty raised the case of the unnamed woman and another family during Leaders' Questions. He said the cases illustrated "what is happening on the ground" since the ending of the no-fault eviction moratorium.
"A family of four have received their eviction notice," Mr Doherty, who did not say whether Cork City or County Council was being referred to, said.
"The council said 'No' to buying the property. They now say it is overcrowded, despite the fact they were paying Hap for this family for the last four years. What about another individual in the Tánaiste's own county of Cork, a lady who was evicted on Friday?
"She was gone on Friday and she is now in emergency accommodation. She got a call after all her bags were packed and after she moved out, from the council, to say they would buy the house.
"Yet, it is too late. She was evicted. She is in emergency accommodation. The landlord had been communicating with the council as far back as August of last year to sell the house to the council. He has pulled out now because it has taken too long. She has been evicted and she is in emergency accommodation in the Tánaiste's own county of Cork."
Mr Doherty said the housing crisis has "gotten worse" since 2017 when Micheál Martin called it a "national scandal" and asked the Tánaiste what the Government's plan would be for people like those he had referred to.
The question sparked an argument between the two men as the Tánaiste asked Mr Doherty to acknowledge that home completions in 2022 were 45% above 2021.
He said the Government had told councils to purchase homes in these situations, but said he was not aware of the specifics of each case.
"I cannot deal with every individual case the deputy may raise. It is easy for him to take one case at a time. However, the policy is there. Councils have been instructed to buy houses where a person is under threat of eviction.
"A specific unit has been established in the department to ensure, co-ordinate and direct councils to follow through. The evidence is that there are now substantial numbers of cost-rental tenant-in-situ scheme situations being progressed by councils across the length and breadth of the country."