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HOUSING MINISTER EOGHAN Murphy has said that his department has no evidence that homeless families are “gaming the system” in order to jump up the social housing waiting list.
Murphy was speaking after the outgoing chairperson of the Housing Agency Conor Skehan told the Irish Times yesterday that homeless families may be presenting as homeless to jump up the list.
Skehan was referring to a policy introduced by the previous government in January 2015 under which 50% of all social housing allocations in Dublin were to go to homeless people.
Commenting on this measure, Skehan suggested that the prioritisation could be skewing homelessness figures.
He came in for strong criticism from opposition politicians and charity officials over the comments, who said there was “no evidence whatsoever” to back up the claims.
Speaking to reporters today, Minister Murphy said that his department also had no evidence of families engaging in this practice, but he stopped short of criticising Skehan.
“Conor Skehan is the chairperson of the Housing Agency. He advises on government policy how he thinks it might be impacting,” the minister said.
“I think it’s fair enough that he can do that in his role, and it’s not for me to criticise him for doing that – it’s important that we have different voices in this debate.
I’ve no evidence in my department of people presenting or trying to game the system.
The minister said that homelessness was a “very complex issue” and reiterated his previous commitments to build more homes and work to help people out of the situation.
Speaking to TheJournal.ie yesterday, Mike Allen, director of advocacy with homelessness charity Focus Ireland, said there was no evidence to back up Skehan’s claims.
“There is no evidence for this happening,” he said.
“And it’s not as though there is no evidence so it might be happening… If this was happening there would be evidence for it.
If you look at the graph of homelessness at that time, it doesn’t start to go up any faster. It continues to go up at the same speed.
Conor Skehan was due finish in his five year role as chair of the Housing Agency at the beginning of this year. The position has been publicly advertised but has yet to be filled.
Skehan has agreed to remain in the role until a successor is appointed by the minister.
I love Christmas but this article resonates on some points and I am sure will do the same for many,
I would add:
Try and get 30mins exercise in each day. A brisk walk will be fine. It keeps the mince pies at bay and boosts your mood. Double whammy.
And remember, if it is not a good time of year, it is short lived. It’ll be over soon.
@Gus McIntosh: I may or may not call clients in my pj’s on my exercise bike when it’s raining.
Stop listening to RTÉ news headlines and Clare Byrne
@James Fox: advice for life, not just Christmas
Dare to hope! Life and love will prevail.
We really are all in this together, look after yourself and your loved ones and don’t put any unneeded pressure on yourself. It’s Christmas, there’s one every year.
@Sean Kirwan: we’re not though. At all.
@Fergal McDonagh: bit if you try real hard when you close your eyes you can convince yourself that we are. Then get back to ignoring the horrible truths in society. Sure its Christmas….Best time of the year to paint over the cracks till next year.
Great article and very helpful thank you.
A whole industry really has grown around the lack of mental wellness that is being driven by contaminants in our food and other man made chemicals we did not evolve to exist with. What we eat, drink and breathe is making us sick and there is no shortage of experts who proclaim to understand our anxiety as an emotion whereas for many it is likely an artificial sensation of fear being triggered by chemicals in our food, drink, breathing air and personal care products. Anxiety is not mental it is immunological for many if not most.
@Gavin Tobin: It can’t be all down to that at all. For an example, watch a few episodes of the Flintstones – Barney Rubble was clearly of a very nervous disposition, constantly worried about things going wrong.
That was a few million years before processed foods and diesel particulates.
@Gavin Tobin: Personally I’m fed up with the constant touting of “detox” products. Our bodies have perfectly functional livers and kidneys and no one needs plastic patches of colour-changing gunk to “filter” any alleged toxins. I wouldn’t take them if they were free, but they’re obviously very lucrative for the sellers to impulse buyers with no notion of human biology at all.
@Fiona Fitzgerald: Yea I’ve seen some fall recently for the ear candle scam which are sold by reputable pharmacies like Boots etc.
One major problem is listed allergens like SO2/Sulphites can be legally hidden and for some this is an overlooked problem.
For example 10% of asthmatics are believed to have a SO2/Sulphite allergy so our food safety laws expose them to a known listed allergen that is hidden from food labelling.
A little bit of inflammation can drive inflammation of CNS driving allergy in particular. Liver & kidneys can’t help here.
@Gavin Tobin: What an absolute load. Being prone to anxiety is a consequence of bad past experiences or just their natural disposition. Some people are naturally pessimistic or wary and never believe good things can happen without ten bad things ruining it afterwards. They might have low self esteem and are convinced they don’t deserve to feel relaxed or happy about anything, and when they do, they dont feel that way for long. Some people think life is empty and meaningless and will feel despair and anxiety over that. Blaming peoples anxiety on what they ingest is completely undermining their anxiety. I feel anxiety constantly, and believe me, its got nothing to do with what i eat and drink and everything to do with my life and the effect its had on me.
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