HAP scheme is 'driving new entries into homelessness'
Michelle Norris said 20% of households should be accommodated in social or cost-rental housing.
'That would be a doubling of supply and would provide more than enough social housing to accommodate all the people currently on HAP,' she said yesterday at a Focus Ireland conference with a focus on reforming HAP. A senior Housing Commission official has called for the Government to double the social housing supply and quit relying on the Housing Assistance Payment (HAP) scheme. Pic: Getty Images
There are 70,000 households reliant on HAP. Ms Norris said the assistance scheme should 'be used primarily to provide short-to medium-term support for households that don't have a long-term housing need'.
Conor Roe of homelessness charity Focus Ireland told of a man on disability allowances who was seeking higher HAP payments to help with arrears. The man contacted Focus Ireland after being told that he would have to be homeless for his HAP to be increased. There are approximately 70,000 households that rely on HAP. Pic: Shutterstock
Mr Roe described the man as yet another person who 'is going to have to become homeless to get themselves to higher rates, to then get themselves out of homelessness'. He said the scheme is 'driving new entries into homelessness'.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Irish Daily Mirror
5 hours ago
- Irish Daily Mirror
'Dynamic pricing is scourge on music': TD calls for end to ticket price gouging
A TD has called for an end to Ticketmaster price gouging as fans ready themselves for the long-awaited Oasis gigs in Croke Park later this month. Music lovers were left stunned after being forced to shell out around €400 for a ticket the band's Dublin concerts after tickets went on sale last year, despite standing tickets initially being advertised at €86.50 plus booking fees. Speaking ahead of the two sold-out Oasis shows, Labour Party spokesperson on Culture, Robert O'Donoghue, recalled the outrageous price gouging allowed by Ticketmaster this time last year. 'Dynamic pricing is a scourge on modern music, sport and cultural ticket purchases,' Deputy O'Donoghue said. 'Since Ticketmaster introduced the practice in 2022, fans and spectators have seen sudden price increases, sometimes of up to 500 per cent, of already expensive ticket prices. "While there are excuses made that this practice falls to event organisers, when Ticketmaster has a near monopoly on ticket selling, they are ultimately the ones in charge of allowing such price hikes to happen. 'This is leading us down a path where only the very well-off can afford to go to a gig without putting themselves under severe financial strain. "Minister for Enterprise Peter Burke has stated to me in a parliamentary question that he is awaiting the results of the Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (CCPC)'s investigation on the matter of dynamic pricing, but the evidence is already clear in the bank balance of anyone who bought an Oasis ticket. "Last year, Government introduced the Sale of Tickets (Cultural, Entertainment, Recreational and Sporting Events) (Amendment) Bill 2024 to ensure these rip-off ticket prices do not happen again, but we haven't seen anything of it since. "I am calling on Government to progress this legislation to tackle rip-off ticket prices. The time for action is now." Subscribe to our newsletter for the latest news from the Irish Mirror direct to your inbox: Sign up here. The Irish Mirror's Crime Writers Michael O'Toole and Paul Healy are writing a new weekly newsletter called Crime Ireland. Click here to sign up and get it delivered to your inbox every week
Extra.ie
7 hours ago
- Extra.ie
Ghislane Maxwell moved from jail
Ghislaine Maxwell, the former girlfriend of convicted paedophile Jeffrey Epstein, has been moved from prison in Florida, to a low security federal prison camp in Texas. Maxwell, who was sentenced in 2022 for carrying out a scheme to recruit, groom and sexually abuse underage girls with Epstein, has been serving 20 years for her part in the crimes, and since her sentencing some three years ago, has continued to appeal her conviction. The decision to move her to a low security camp, comes just one week after Maxwell met with Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche, at the US attorney's office in Tallahassee, Florida. Ghislaine Maxwell. Pic: Sylvain Gaboury/Patrick McMullan via Getty Images A report on CNN News in the US says details of that meeting have not been made public, though her lawyer has said that Maxwell 'honestly answered every question that Mr. Blanche asked.' Meanwhile a Republican-led congressional committee has rejected a request by Ghislaine Maxwell, for immunity from future prosecution, as a condition for testifying to the panel during recent political storms surrounding the White House and President Donald Trump. Questions over whether or not Mr Trump had a close friendship with Epstein, who died in jail in New York in 2019 while awaiting trial, have been a real bone of contention for the President in the past few months, including during his recent visit to Scotland where he was again questioned about his relationship with Epstein. Maxwell is accused of facilitating the sex crimes of the late Jeffrey Epstein (second right). Pic:Meanwhile, the family of Virginia Giuffre, one of Epsteins most well-known sex trafficking accusers, expressed their shock after President Trump said that Virginia was one of his employees at Mar-a-Lago, and that Epstein 'stole' the then teenager from the spa resort. Giuffre, had also accused Britain's Prince Andrew and other influential men of sexually exploiting her when she was trafficked as a teenager by Epstein. Yesterday her family said 'It was shocking to hear President Trump invoke our sister and say that he was aware that Virginia had been 'stolen' from Mar-a-Lago'. Virginia Giuffre, an alleged victim of Jeffrey Epstein, exits from federal court in New York, in 2019. Pic: Jeenah Moon/Bloomberg via Getty Images Mr. Trump, was responding to a reporter's question on Tuesday, when he said that he got upset with Epstein over his 'poaching of workers', including Virginia Giuffre, from his Palm Beach, Florida, club. American-born Virginia Giuffre lived in Australia for years and had become an advocate for sex trafficking survivors after emerging as a central figure in Epstein's prolonged downfall. Her family's statement said she endured death threats and financial ruin over her cooperation with authorities against Epstein and Maxwell. Ms Giuffre died by suicide earlier this year.
RTÉ News
9 hours ago
- RTÉ News
Harris says Govt 'not rowing back' on hospitality VAT cut
Tánaiste Simon Harris has said he is "not rowing back" on Programme for Government commitments to cut the hospitality VAT rate despite saying the timing of any measure will be decided on budget day. Speaking to reporters at Government Buildings, the Tánaiste said while the cut will be the "subject of budget negotiations", the Programme for Government has made "clear commitments" in relation to the matter. Last week, Minister for Finance Paschal Donohoe indicated that while the hospitality VAT rate cut from 13.5% to 9.5% is still planned, introducing the measure in autumn's budget would take up almost two thirds of the available tax reduction space. In the immediate aftermath of the remark, a number of Government sources indicated that the hospitality VAT rate cut could now be delayed until next summer - a move understood to be supported by some in Fianna Fáil but opposed by Fine Gael. Asked about the possible delay to the tax cut, which business groups say is needed in order to protect jobs, Tánaiste Simon Harris said "the timing of any measure will be a matter for budget day". However, when asked if he is "rowing back" on his previous position in early summer that the tax cut commitment was a "solemn" promise, he added: "I'm not rowing back on anything, but I suppose I'm being respectful to the budgetary process. "The Programme for Government says what it says. I believe the Programme for Government is very important, it's a contract between two political parties and some Independent TDs, and therefore I believe the words in it matter. "It talks about reducing the cost base for small businesses, particularly in the hospitality sector around food. And we'll work our way through that." The Tánaiste repeated his position that he is "not going to get into specific budget measures or the timing, other than to say all of this can be discussed in the round". However, he said that "towards the end of the summer" Government intends "to take stock again" in relation to the potential impact of international trade and tariffs deals, "and then we'll reserve the right to finesse the summer economic statement as required".
