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Rent allowance reduced by 8% without a murmur from the media

category national | housing | news report author Monday September 14, 2009 14:25author by PoorPerson Report this post to the editors

Another stealth attack on the silent poor...

Single persons seeking rent allowance can now look forward to being net 7-8% worse off than previously was the case thanks to new rates.
And no reductions for sharing either!
And no reductions for sharing either!

Currently in the Galway area, Assuming you were on a rent of 110
(110 is the normal maximum for a single person renting to my knowledge. if your accomodation costs more, you pay it all out of your dole of course. )

You used to pay a contribution towards your rent which used to be 13 euro from your dole

This contribution has officially been raised to 17 euro which is at least 30% more than before

Then on top of that, on the remaining balance they have just slapped on another 8% reduction with no explanation at all.

For example:
------------------

previously:
assuming your rent was 110 euro
you paid your landlord 13 euro, the state paid him the balance of 97 euro.

now:
you pay 17 euro plus another 8% of the balance (93 euro) (i.e. 9 euro), which comes to 26 euro. The state pays 84 euro, just like that.

The letter supplied to rent allowance seekers stated that "this letter can be used to negotiate a reduction from your landlord"
In other words, it is up to each tenant to negotiate with their landlord for a reduction on an individual basis. Good luck there!

Essentially what this has done is reduced social welfare for those in rented accomodation by 13 euro

Assuming you are paid approx 180 euro on social welfare, this amounts to over 7.2% of a net decrease in your income

i.e. previously you had 180-13= 167 euro net
and now you have 180-26= 154 euro net

Thats quite a considerable cut for anyone, never mind for someone whose income goes mostly on food and who is just barely making ends meet at the bottom of the income ladder.

No real mention of this in the media. They just quietly put the boot into the silent poor, because they could.

and this is after the xmas bonus fiasco (which amounted to a 2% cut) and BEFORE they implement their real social welfare cuts.

So essentially so far there has been a 9.2% cut in income for some of the poorest in society to "do our patriotic duty" cleaning up after the bankers and property developers. How much more "patriotic duty" is reasonable for this sector of society to pay for further huge loans to people like Carroll?

author by Michael Gallagherpublication date Mon Sep 14, 2009 14:58author address author phone Report this post to the editors

...facts and figures. I wonder will the local councils and corporations now follow suit and give a rent reduction to all social welfare etc dependents after the cuts? They wasted no time increasing rents after previous budgets.

author by Greg Tpublication date Mon Sep 14, 2009 17:45author address author phone Report this post to the editors

This cut was implemented back in June if I remember correctly. There was no warning, just the letter that was mentioned announcing the cut.

author by PoorPersonpublication date Mon Sep 14, 2009 17:55author address author phone Report this post to the editors

But I thought somebody should highlight what happened. I didn't see it discussed anywhere

author by wiseguypublication date Mon Sep 14, 2009 18:44author address author phone Report this post to the editors

There are some people out there who never worked a day in their life or contributed to the state in any shape or form. And they've been on rent allowance/dole since they were entitled to get it.

So I welcome the increase, I also know that many have been laid off during the year and have never claimed off the state and my heart goes out to them.

author by workerpublication date Tue Sep 15, 2009 06:20author address author phone Report this post to the editors

Ireland had effectively full employment during the boom years. How does this square with your harmful stereotype wiseguy? Where were all these dole scroungers then? They were going to work just like you were wiseguy.

The fact is the right and the rich cultivate this notion of the dole scrounger to allow for cutting back social programs and safety nets. Guess where the money saved usually goes to? Lower taxes for the rich and bank bailouts.

The biggest dole scroungers this state has ever known will be the property developers and banks involved in nama. Their scrounging from the state will far outstrip that of a few poor unfortunate people incapable of holding down a minimum wage job. and will leave us all in debt for generations.

Most ordinary people are at most a few weeks wages away from needing these safety nets. How can such people be so easily convinced to support the drive to remove their own safety nets? It seems pretty silly behaviour to me. Just because you don't wish to have to avail of a social safety net, doesn't mean you should not want it to be there for you in case you fall, through no fault of your own.

author by paul o toolepublication date Wed Sep 16, 2009 09:28author email pauljotoole at eircom dot netauthor address author phone Report this post to the editors

If your looking for a scrounger look no further than the ballot sheet at election time.
As if all our politicians werent getting extortionate pay already, their expense sheets puts their pay in the ha'penny place.
Bertie Aherne one time was asked what he earned and could not answer.....he'd recieved 13 payrises in 2.5 years. John O'Donohue blew 250,000 of your money ....besides his wages , and he 'understands' that ....'some of the expenses may seem a little high'. ....Not that they were high...in other words...we dont understand.
The 30 miles of M50 is owned and paid for by the people of this state....ehem....except for the 1/2 KM before the bridge over the valley where the liffey flows. That bit is owned by NTR/FF, and by the time the contract is up...it will cost the taxpaying, toll bridge dubliners 30 times the initial cost...and where does the profit go......NTR/FF...national toll roads (private) and Fianna Fail (political).

This is what is meant by Public/ private partnership.....we pay for it....they rob us for decades....

The Port Tunnel was the biggest and most expensive project undertaken by this state...Now there is talk of moving Dublin Port up to Dundalk. The net resuls will be that the wealthiest business men with their appartments down on what used to be dockland property will benefit with their very own private tunnel from where they work-IFSC, to the airport.
More extortion of taxpayers money.

I'd love to see more people taking advantage of the welfare system...even abusing it , than see more politicians getting away with abusing their role as public 'servants'. The damage they do is catastrophic....welfare fraud is a pittance if compared.

So lay off the struggling classes and work together to expose the real corruption

author by Balancer - -publication date Wed Sep 16, 2009 13:38author address author phone Report this post to the editors

I think , when confronted with a choice, it is much better to cut the Rent Allowance than the Dole itself -
cutting the Rent Allowance affects so many, cutting the Dole affects almost everybody on welfare.

And, in fact , the rents are much too high, and the government should do something about these rackrenting landlords .

author by PoorPersonpublication date Wed Sep 16, 2009 15:10author address author phone Report this post to the editors

we are still expected to pay boom rents on bust property. And you can be pretty sure the government aren't going to do anything much about that in a hurry.

"I think , when confronted with a choice, it is much better to cut the Rent Allowance than the Dole itself -"

don't worry, you can be sure they'll be cutting that too

"cutting the Rent Allowance affects so many, cutting the Dole affects almost everybody on welfare."

and cutting both affects some poor people much more than others.
The real question should be why not make cuts in huge expenses, pensions and salaries afforded to upper / middle management in civil service and politicians? And maybe stop bailing out developers and banks through nama. instead of hitting the poorest until they bleed.

"And, in fact , the rents are much too high, and the government should do something about these rackrenting landlords ."

but one of the main points of the post was that they weaseled out on doing this and left the tenant with a letter and a suggestion that they negotiate a reduction.
Like that will happen for most people!! fat chance.

author by Greg Tpublication date Sun Sep 20, 2009 10:27author address author phone Report this post to the editors

Waiting period of up to several months for rent allowance assessment to be completed are going to result from recent changes in social welfare legislation. In the meantime more and more people are undoubtedly going to become homeless.
http://www.corkindependent.com/local-news/local-news/co...nces/
(It's nice to see a Labour TD taking action on this issue). As if that isn't worrying enough, just been told by someone I know (coincidentally also in County Cork), that new Rent Allowance claims are not being processed at all in her area. She was basically told (informally) that her claim was a waste of time and that due to staff shortages new applications will not get seen to. Sounds suspiciously like yet another stealth on the sly cut. Meanwhile the NAMA plans to bailout the rich continue, gombeen politics as usual. No doubt these developments will please the far-right troll on this tread, but anyone else know similar stories?

author by shoegirlpublication date Mon Sep 21, 2009 17:40author address author phone Report this post to the editors

"The letter supplied to rent allowance seekers stated that "this letter can be used to negotiate a reduction from your landlord"
In other words, it is up to each tenant to negotiate with their landlord for a reduction on an individual basis. Good luck there"

In other words - screw you?
Contrary to popular mythology, landlords are NOT reducing rents. I STILL see the same rent levels as I did 2 years ago when I moved in here. They are not putting rents up but instead hiking up ancillary charges such as waste, etc. I've even seen landlords (and with no law against this) pass the extra profits they wish to earn to tenants by increasing the unit rates on ESB meters to make tenants pay more. (And pocket the extra cash generated of course - I can find no law in place in Ireland to stop landlords doing this, or the other common one, passing directly charges such as PRTB charges to their tenants).

What I want to know is how long will it be before we start hearing of landlords charging the new 200 euro tax on 2nd properties directly to the tenant? Again NOTHING in the legislation to stop landlords from slapping this as a charge to tenants.

author by Tenant - -publication date Tue Sep 22, 2009 12:55author address author phone Report this post to the editors

Yes, the Rent Allowance will be hit hardest of all in December's Budget.
I would guess , cut by about 20 per cent., 50 per cent for under Twenties .
And with the fall in the value of property, rents coming down, mostly due to thousands of unemployed guest workers heading home, this is the way it will be justified.
Parents too, who actually want the abolition of the Rent Allowance, to get their little sons and daughters back home out of those wicked flats, have been putting pressure on Mary Hanafin, and this too will be seized upon as an excuse - it will be just like a similar campaign to ' Passive Smoking Can Kill ' , with lurid pictures painted of Flatland, drugs, sex, drink, orgies etc etc etc

I can see it right now.

Basically, the news media don't report it because journalists generally can't stand rackrenting landlords, many of them victims of the same Ogres when they were starting out.

Can't say I blame them !

author by Tenant - -publication date Tue Sep 22, 2009 13:10author address author phone Report this post to the editors

And, of course, the murders in flatland, such as that tragic murder over tthe weekend of that lovely 24-year-old girl in Leighlinbtidge, Carlow, will also be hauled out as the deadly danger of rented flats etc for young people .

We might be better off that the journalists are ignoring the rent allowance decreases in the papers - but what I did think was savage was the fiver reduction a few months back in the rent allowances of the residents of the Iveagh Hostel in Dublin, and all other such hostels throughout the country.

The Iveagh is still good value, though, as probably the best hostel in these islands - that's why it's always full of Dubs in the Know !

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