'Mickey Mouse' housing scheme to provide 'minuscule’ number of Laois homes Dáil told

Just 10 houses can be bought in Laois to mitigate the eviction ban under that tenant-in-situ scheme, according to Brian Stanley TD.

The Laois Offaly TD made the claim in the Dáil during a Sinn Féin motion to stop the lifting of the ban on evictions where he said dozens of renters are facing eviction in his constituency.

The Sinn Féin TD labeled the scheme, which has so far delivered six homes to Laois, as ‘Mickey Mouse’.

“The number of homes that the councils can buy under the tenant in situ scheme is minuscule.

“Laois County Council can buy ten houses under the scheme and the same applies in Offaly. This includes the Government's expanded figures that were given to the local authorities last week. That is what was announced. What happens to the other households that have received notices to quit and what about those who have yet to be notified? This is not a solution; it is a Mickey Mouse scheme,” he said.

He added: “he Government has made a big deal of its decision to expand the tenant in situ scheme but that will not even make a dent in the problem”.

He made the comments just days after Laois County Council said it has to date bought six properties under the scheme, out of 34 offered to the local authority. 

The council told the Irish Times that it was considering placing offers on a further 13 homes.

In his Dáil statement.

The scheme allows councils to buy homes where landlords are selling but the tenant is receiving the Housing Assistance Payment (HAP) or is on the Rental Accommodation Scheme (RAS).

It was introduced almost a year ago. The Government hopes 1,500 homes can be bought in 2023 around Ireland. It has been flagged as one of the measure to mitigate the eviction ban.

Dep Brian Stanley outlined the eviction threat in his constituency during the debat on Tuesday, March 22.

“Dozens of households across Laois and Offaly are facing eviction in a matter of days. They have ten more nights with a roof over their heads and then the eviction ban will be lifted. Renters are stressed out and frightened.

“They are terrified of what is in front of them. They have been given no answers and no solutions by this Government as to what they should do or where they should go. “Emergency accommodation is stretched to capacity and much of what is left is totally unsuitable,” he said.

The TD said this Government and its predecessors “have failed spectacularly” in their housing.

“As a consequence, ordinary people are being punished, forced out of their homes and left with no alternatives. A total of 135 eviction notices fall due in April in Laois and Offaly - 88 in Laois and 47 in Offaly…The number of families and households receiving eviction notices will increase significantly as the months roll on, as further notices to quit fall due,” he siad.

The TD insisted that extending the eviction ban ensures that almost 12,000 people in Ireland will be spared the ordeal of eviction and the fear of eviction and buy the Government time to do the things it has not done to date. 

He added that Sinn Féin is calling for all remaining vacant local authority homes to be immediately revamped and put back into use and for councils to be given more powers to compulsorily purchase long-vacant homes.

“We need a minimum of 20,000 social and affordable homes to purchase and rent. We also need an emergency three-year rent freeze and a tax rebate equal to one month's rent for renters. These are solutions, along with modular homes that can be erected quickly.

“I appeal to the Minister to change tack. It is disgraceful that more than 140 years after the founding of the Irish National Land League, which fought for fair rent and fixity of tenure, renters in the 21st century, in 2023, still do not have these things. Some of them have only ten more nights with a roof over their heads. We need to do better than this. The Government should do better than this,” he concluded.

The ban on eviction which was first introduced during the Covid-19 pandemic is set to expire on March 31.