Affordable housing application delay
Senator Doherty raised a constituent's risk of losing an affordable house because Fingal County Council's loan and housing processes are not communicating. After a brief gallery welcome, she explained that the applicant's parental leave and childcare circumstances were not properly understood, leaving the 15 November deadline in jeopardy.
I want to raise an issue involving a lovely lady from Rush who is just about to buy one of the new affordable houses we have there. She is a single mom looking after three beautiful children. She has gone through the hoops for the past couple of years and is just about to lose a house that was secured for her, one of the small number of houses that were available. The local authority housing loan as part of Fingal County Council and the affordable housing people who are offering the houses do not seem to be able to talk to each other. The scheme that we have with the local authorities to get a mortgage has a €65,000 salary earnings cap. That is not based on last year's earnings but this year's, even though this year is not over.
The lady's current salary slip shows that if she worked for the 52 weeks of the year, she would probably earn over the €65,000.
Comment on this
Before she leaves, I welcome Leslie Hamilton to the Public Gallery. I welcome her back and thank her for being here. We miss her in Leinster House. Apologies to Senator Doherty.
Comment on this
Not at all. I spent many years working with Ms Hamilton, so it is very nice to see her.
The frustration here is that the lady does not breach the earnings cap. The council has assumed that she is going to work for the 52 weeks of the year whereas she takes more than seven or eight weeks of parental leave every year, at her own cost, because she has an eight-year-old son and she cannot get childcare for him during the school holidays. Neither part of Fingal County Council is talking to the other and she is going to lose the house because the deadline of 15 November for the loan application has come and gone and she is on days' notice. I have been banging my head against a wall trying to get one part of the council to talk to the other in order that this lady can get the home she needs. Otherwise, she is going to end up homeless. Could the Leader ask the Minister for housing to get one of his officials to please call Fingal County Council in order to try to sort this lady's house out? Otherwise, she is going to lose it and that is going to be down to us.