Rent Allowance Scrapped for the Most Vulnerable

by reader Thu Nov 13, 2003 23:22

I have just visited your site and from the first moment was pleased with what I saw. Your illustrations, layout and format are welcoming and immediately _focus_ attention on your message.
Just one thing, I like many Irish citizens with experience of homelessness, precarious tenure, squatting, subsistence below the "poverty line" and immigration issues, am no _longer resident in the Irish state_. I continue to live though in the €uropean Union, where all _other_ citizens are afforded the right to vote in the constituency of their birth. (The Irish being the only European Union member state *thus far*) to disenfranchise their citizens on the point of "relinquishing habitual residency" in the Irish state (26 counties)[29 including Fingal and the other conceit]. I have often tried to bring this to the attention of activists of varying hues, and feel _*moved_* to remind all current readers of both your "excellent site" http://www.focusireland.org and http://www.indymedia.org ([like all of *_IT_*]) of this civil right imbalance ahead of two forthcoming events.
_*Both of which*_ ought properly find certain priority in "your" campaigning on the *_"macro-€uropean-rights issues"_* (and indeed those of your supporters)[& readers here on http://www.indymedia.ie/newswire.php?story_id=25153] that the _"_* accession *_"_ of new states to the €uropean Union shall put rather different spin on the most jaded of all disenfranchising arguments:- "no taxation no representation".

Bin the non vote!

{_"*i no wot im do in*"_}

by Satchel Fri Nov 14, 2003 02:23

They don't have to live with the consequences. like we do. Most of them are so out oftouch with Ireland that they'd probably vote Sinn Féin or the Socialist Party.

by stop the attacks Fri Nov 14, 2003 10:14

The Back to Education Allowance which helps unemployed people return to full-time education is under attack.

After stopping the payment of the BTEA for the summer holidays last year, the government are now changing the criteria for applying. Instead of the current 6 months unemployed, you will now have to be unemployed for 15 months before you can apply.

Apparently too many people were applying and going to college. So much for wanting an educated workforce!

by exiled Fri Nov 14, 2003 11:58

Most exiles who would vote in Irish elections are indeed out of touch. They are not very likely to vote along class lines ie against cuts or for cuts. This is because it does not affect them. They are motivated to vote primarily on nationalistic lines. The reason they vote and go to the bother of registering etc is because they have a deep sense of attachment to Ireland and are likely to be Irish nationalists. Therefore the romantic idea of 'Getting the Brits out' or 'Keeping Ireland nice rural and pure' will have alot of weight with these people. I would predict that these people are more likely to vote Sinn Féin, not for the socialist party.

by Roughan Mac Namara - Focus Ireland Fri Nov 14, 2003 16:42 rmcnamara at focusireland dot ie

Focus Ireland claimed today that the new changes to the SWA rent allowance system bought in by Minister for Social and Family Affairs Mary Coughlan could actually act to increase homelessness as the safety net of private rented accommodation is removed as an option for thousands of families and single people. Focus Ireland Chief Executive Declan Jones said: “We could now have the crazy situation where a person who is working and has been renting accommodation for less than 6 months loses their job they could find themselves homeless under the new rule where Health Boards have the power to refuse rent allowance to people who have been renting for less than 6 months.”
Mr. Jones added: “With average rents running at least 800 euro a month for a 1-bed apartment this means people could be expected to pay nearly 5,000 euro in rent over 6 months before they qualify for rent supplement.” Mr. Jones added while the Minister has said there will be provisions for exceptions in relation to people who are homeless or where there are “other compelling reasons” these have not been specified and could vary significantly across different health board areas.

Focus Ireland also maintains the private rented sector has provided a “safety net” for many people nationwide (Even though rents have rocketed in recent years) to prevent them from becoming homeless while waiting for years as one of the record total of 48,413 households on the housing waiting lists.

Mr. Jones said: “This new rule could see more people in this situation being forced into homelessness if they are refused rent allowance under these new changes. It could also mean many people (Vulnerable women and children in particular) could be stuck in an abusive relationship/household or in a very unhappy relationship as they will have no other option but emergency accommodation or living on the streets if they try and leave.”

Meanwhile, Focus Ireland also stressed the new rule which will see people who apply for rent allowance being referred to the local authority for an assessment of housing need could cause grave problems. Mr. Jones said: “If people need to be classified as homeless in these cases before they are eligible for rent allowance this could cause real problems as currently in Dublin just over half (57%) of people accessed and accepted as homeless were actually registered as homeless with their local authority (Source: Counted In 2002) This leads to the obvious question: If the local authorities don’t have the full details of who is homeless in their area then how can they determine if a person is entitled to avoid the new 6 month restriction?”

ADD YOUR VOICE TO THE RIGHT TO A HOME CAMPAIGN

Nearly 6,000 homeless people feel nobody in power is listening to them. Three years into a Government strategy to tackle the problem it continues to get worse - Especially for families who are homeless. The official number of homeless people has increased from 5,234 to 5,581 since 1999. Meanwhile a record total of 48,413 households are stuck on housing waiting lists - That's about 140,000 people in total.

Focus Ireland's Right to a Home campaign is calling for urgent Government action to tackle this growing crisis. You can add your voice to this campaign by visiting: http://www.focusireland.org taking a minute to read our campaign demands and then issue the letter to all you local TD's at the touch of a button.

by Gadgeteer Fri Nov 14, 2003 22:02

The proposed abolition of the Diet Allowance is a savage attack on people like myself who suffer from Coeliac Disease. The cost of maintaining a VERY basic gluten diet is around 100-120 euro per week. The loss of this allowance will cause major pain and suffering to the thousands of people who need specialised diets.

by Anonymous Sat Nov 15, 2003 18:17

http://www.focusireland.org

(I say this to myself as much as anyone else)

In case anyone missed Roughans appeal above:-

Click onto the Focus Ireland site where they have an excellent email system set up for us to help them put pressure on local TD's and the government.

http://www.focusireland.org

"465 emails have been sent in support of our campaign to date. Add your voice to our campaign and send an email message to your TD expressing your concern."

Surely we can increase this by a large amount!!

Spread the word by making all your email contact list aware of this campaign. "The success of our campaign depends on spreading the word." (taken from the Focus website)

http://www.focusireland.org/campaigntellafriend.php?UID=1

For tips on campaigning:-

http://www.focusireland.org/html/campaigning_tips.html