Minister’s claims on homeless funding do not stack up – McGrath

Independent TD Mattie McGrath has called on the Minister for the Environment Alan Kelly to withdraw statements in which he claimed that Tipperary’s housing crisis is completely unrelated to the issue of government funding. The Minister made his comments as he was being questioned on Tipperary’s Tipp Today radio programme this morning:

“Minister Kelly is being completely disingenuous when he suggests that the chronic shortage of social housing in Tipperary in not in any way being determined by a lack of funding from central government.

I have had it confirmed by Tipperary Council this week that there are 2920 people on the approved list for local authority housing in Tipperary.

That figure does not even include the numbers currently being assessed and which will no doubt be added to it in the coming weeks and months.

The fact that people cannot meet the gap between the rent allowance payment and the increasing asking price for rent demonstrates a direct correlation between the unwillingness of government to release further social welfare funding and the increase in homelessness.

How then can Minister Kelly say this is not an issue of funding?

Only this morning, in another context, we had the Justice Minister telling us that it will cost €12 million to house every 1000 refugees or migrants we take in.

This again goes to show that funding is at the heart of how we meet the homelessness crisis.

The Minister ought to be honest enough to admit that instead of deflecting blame on to those who are trying to meet the homeless problem head on,” concluded Deputy McGrath.
Below are the current numbers of approved housing applicants for County Tipperary.
 
Carrick on Suir District                   271
Cashel Tipperary District                541
Clonmel Borough District               655
Nenagh District                              656
Templemore Thurles District          797
 
Total                                             2920