'Tipperary people get up in the morning, go to work and come home to a notice to quit'

The level of homelessness in Tipperary is worse than ever, and thousands of young people are leaving Ireland because of the housing crisis, a recent Council meeting was told.

This month’s Nenagh Municipal District Meeting, held on Thursday the 16th, saw the presentation of the latest housing report and Councillor Seamus Morris mentioned the need to include the number of notices to quit within this report.

“These reports aren’t reflecting the reality on the ground,” he pointed out. “We Councillors are regularly dealing with people losing their houses, who are being given notices to quit. These people get up in the morning, go to work, and come home to a notice to quit. These are working people that are just doing their best, but they aren't being given a fair hand.

“Thousands of young people are moving abroad because they can't get affordable homes or fair rents here. Let's call a spade a spade. One in six houses are owned by Vulture Funds and the government is working for the profits of the Vulture Funds rather than for the improvement of the lives of our young people.

“Landlords often get a bad rap but if it wasn’t for landlords we wouldn’t have nearly as much social housing as we do, but the landlords have had enough. They’re getting out of the business because of the cost increases; where they are being used by the government as a cash cow, where the government are taxing them out of it.”

The councillor then went on to note that 166 people are using homeless services throughout Tipperary, which he deemed a “serious crisis”, pointing out that the homeless crisis in the county is worse than ever.

Cllr Rocky McGrath, Chairman of Nenagh MD, said the housing section in the Council is working very hard “but they are worn down and stressed. And we Councillors are contributing to their stress because we are conveying our constituents' problems. The level of worry and stress out there in the general public is a considerable problem.”

It was also noted within the meeting, by a member of the Council executive, that an application for extra funding for void houses had been sent to the government department, and had received a positive response. Written confirmation of extra funding is needed before any work can begin, the executive member said, however several houses are ready to start as soon as funding is confirmed.

In the Housing Report it was stated that the County Council had received confirmation that they will receive a total of €3,408,125 in private grant funding for housing for 2023. The allocation which Tipperary has received for the Disabled Persons' Grants is €2,110,262, for 2023, which is the highest allocation in the country.

A target of 99 houses to be completed in Tipperary under the Energy Retrofit Program was set by the department for the current year. In fact 101 units are currently in various stages of retrofitting work and are due to be completed by the end of the year. Construction works have been completed on half of the units, with snagging and post works energy surveys underway. This year’s programme includes units in Cloughjordan, Ballina, Roscrea, Borrisoleigh, Templemore, Thurles, Clonmel Town, Carrick-on-Suir Town, Tipperary Town and Cahir Town. Qualifying works under the scheme typically involve insulation, upgrades of windows and installation of heat pumps.

A total of 68 Housing Loan Applications have been received by Tipperary County Council so far this year. 29 of these were valid, and 15 were approved. 13 of these loans have been issued equaling a total value of €1,314,750.

74 formal applications to purchase have been submitted under the Tenant Purchase Scheme throughout the county. 55 of these were approved, and 16 of the sales have been completed. The total proceeds is €1,022,000.

There are a total of 943 properties under the Rental Accommodation Scheme in the county. 

In Tipperary, 1,980 households are availing of the HAP scheme. Of those 51.8% are in employment and have a median earned income of €12.898.

In the Nenagh district there have been 772 approved Housing Applicants. There are 21 vacant houses in the district. 4 of these are available for letting, 16 need minor repairs, and 1 needs major refurbishment. 

There are currently more than 3,500 council-owned houses which are vacant around Ireland, with 112 of them in Tipperary.

The Housing Report finished by stating that there have been 52 Offers of Tenancy in the county with 31 being accepted, 2 being refused, and 19 pending.