Brian Stanley hits out at government housing programme for 'failing squeezed middle'

Laois Independent TD and general election candidate Brian Stanley has hit out at the government's housing programme saying it is "failing workers who are trapped with their income just above the threshold for social housing’’.

“This week I had another example of parents with four children living in a mobile home and who have no hope of getting on to the social housing waiting list as their joint income of €43,000 is just over the income for social housing. The flip side of this is that all attempts by them to get a mortgage or council loan has failed due to their income being too low," the former Sinn Féin TD said. 

"Over the past couple of years I have come across numerous families trapped in this situation and in most cases they are caught in Private Rented Accommodation with no security of tenure and paying sky rocketing rents. The housing needs of these families are not being met at the moment. Families who are on incomes in the range of €40 – €60k are in the squeezed middle and who are under the most pressure’’.

The Portlaoise based TD said the government's Affordable to Purchase Scheme and Affordable Cost Rentals is not being delivered at the scale required to meet the crisis.

"In 2023, according to the department housing figures, just 97 were delivered across the State in cost rentals with just 6 of these in Co Laois. Under the Affordable to Purchase Scheme 499 houses were delivered across the State with only 8 of these in County. While FF/FG promised thousands the reality on the ground is we have snail pace delivery’," he said. 

“The failure to address the predicament that thousands of families are caught in across Laois in Private Rented Accommodation, living on the edge not knowing when they are going to get a Notice to Quit or yet another increase in rent needs to be addressed as a matter of urgency by the new Government."

According to The Daft.ie Rental Price Report for Q3 of 2024, rental prices in Laois have risen 10% each year, and are up 56% from pre-Covid years. The recently published report reveals that the average rent in Laois is now €1,568, which is rising by 0.7% every three months.

There were 430 homes available to rent in Leinster, outside Dublin, on November 1st, down 9% on the same date a year previously - and about half the 2015-2019 average of just over 850.

“The new incoming Government must scale up the Affordable to Buy housing schemes and in parallel with this roll out the cost rental home schemes for those who will never qualify for a mortgage or local authority loan," added Deputy Stanley.