Tánaiste critical of council resistance to  tenant-in-situ scheme

Micheál Martin: 'Unfair to suggest that Fianna Fáil could be tainted by homeless crisis.'

Local authorities around the country will be pressured to buy homes with tenants in-situ as Tánaiste Micheál Martin admits there has been resistance to the scheme.

Mr Martin was critical that only some councils across the country were implementing Government policy and said a more “uniform” response was required to ensure people could remain in their homes and not end up homeless.

In an interview with the Irish Examiner in New York, Mr Martin also said he thought it was unfair to suggest Fianna Fáil could be tainted by the current housing crisis despite homeless figures at a record high.

Under the tenant-in-situ scheme, councils are encouraged to purchase homes where the landlord is selling up and the tenant is receiving State supports such as the Housing Assistance Payment (Hap).

However, recent figures have shown that Dublin local authorities bought just 13 homes out of more than 400 offered to them in recent months by departing landlords. 

Mr Martin said there had been a “patchy” response to the scheme and some local authorities were proactive, but others were not.

Unit to engage with councils

He said Housing Minister Darragh O’Brien had established a unit within his department to engage with councils.

“And if we hear of cases of particular houses that someone is facing eviction, the department will be in direct contact with the local authorities in terms of directing them to buy,” Mr Martin said.

“They’ve been given a direction to follow through on the Government policy, that we do not want tenants evicted and the State should purchase those houses with tenants in-situ.

“Darragh has given them the green light on that for quite some time now but now he's issuing a directive to them that they have to intervene.”

What's your view on this issue?

You can tell us here

The Tánaiste said there had been resistance to the scheme because councils were more keen on providing and building homes.

The idea of buying old houses with tenants in situ was “not a conventional way” of dealing with matters due to the social housing list, he said.

Mr Martin said the argument the Government did not introduce measures for the rental sector while the eviction ban was in place was “overplayed".

Opposition TDs have criticised the Government for “cobbling together" measures but could not say when legislation would be enacted to compel landlords to give tenants first refusal when they sell their homes.

“The eviction ban was primarily brought in in the context of the energy crisis and the winter period.

“We’re only talking about a number of months of an eviction ban so I think that's overplayed that argument.

“This idea that one could have magic up a load of houses and initiatives in a number of months… these are not issues that you do straight off. I mean, they have consequences.”

No blame game

The Tánaiste said he would not get into blaming political parties for the housing crisis, adding there were many factors that contributed to the issue.

However, he said Fianna Fáil had made a difference to housing and said the party was building more houses, something he said he was determined to continue to do with his Coalition colleagues.

On homelessness figures, Mr Martin said there was no question that the movement of people within Europe was a major factor, stating there was a pattern of people coming to Ireland and immediately applying for emergency housing “so that is a factor in rising homelessness”.