80% of homes beyond reach of those on rent subsidies

The supply of properties in the private rental market is down 55% since May 2015, and 80% of those properties are beyond the reach of people on rent supplements.

There was not one property available to rent for a family of two children or more on rent supplement, in Cork City centre, between August 30 and September 1.

These figures are from a Simon Community report published yesterday, examining the gap between rent supplement, or Housing Assistant Payment (HAP) limits, and market rents.

“The rent supplement and HAP limits continue to be below market rates.

“Rents increased by approximately 40% and the number of properties available has reduced by 80% since 2012 (Daft.ie figure),” said Niamh Randall, spokesperson for the Simon Communities in Ireland.

Ms Randall listed various statistics that were key to identifying the problems in the housing sector, and their solutions.

Some 150,000 people are on housing waiting lists and this figure was ascertained by a Freedom of Information (FoI) request by Fianna Fáil last year.

There are 198,000 vacant properties in Ireland, a figure that was released by the Central Statistics Office, as a result of Census 2016.

As of August of this year, there are 6,611 people living in emergency accommodation, which includes 2,500 children.

According to the Simon Community’s Locked Out report, there were just 518 homes available within the limits of the various rent supplements.

Also speaking yesterday was Dr Lorcan Sirr, a lecturer in housing and urban economics at the Dublin Institute of Technology.

He strongly urged that we use the word “crisis” carefully when finding solutions to the problems in housing.

“The language is critical in any of these debates and discussions. A crisis, in my mind, is something that’s natural.

“It’s flooding, it’s Hurricane Katrina. What we have in housing is a handmade crisis, essentially.

“It’s something we did ourselves. The collapse of the market is not an act of God,” said Dr Sirr.

“The problem is when you use the word ‘crisis’, it’s very easy to let that be taken away and run away with by the powers-that-be and be abused, and you can put in emergency measures that avoid having to deal with the real issues at stake.

“So, an emergency measure might be bringing in the first-time buyers grant, which won’t cure anything, but it’s a very instant sop to the demand side of things.

“But it avoids the real issues of looking at construction costs and the cost of regulation.

“The word ‘crisis’ can be taken and run down the field with by the politicians or civil servants, as a way of avoiding having to deal with the real things,” added Dr Sirr.