Homeless taxi driver ‘forced to abandon his livelihood’ to qualify for Meath housing list
A taxi driver was forced to “abandon his livelihood” after being unable to meet social housing application requirements, councillors were told at the December meeting of Meath County Council.
Sinn Féin councillor Maria White raised the issue as part of a motion calling for the abolition of the requirement that self-employed applicants submit audited accounts when seeking social housing support.
She urged the council to adopt “a more equitable and discretionary approach to income verification”.
In a written response, the council said the Housing Department requires self-employed applicants to submit at least two years of accounts with an Auditor’s Report, along with a Notice of Assessment or Self-Assessment Acknowledgement for the previous 12 months.
“It is acknowledged that for governance of business purposes there is no legal requirement for a sole trader to engage an accountant or tax advisor to sign off or audit their accounts, however the Council position is that there is nothing preventing them from being audited,” the response stated.
“It is accepted that there is a cost for the sole trader involved in this, however providing access to Social Housing Support confers a significant level of state support, as such audited accounts are required to verify income information from sole traders.”
The council added that in “exceptional circumstances” where such documents cannot be produced, it may use discretion on a “case-by-case basis”.
However, Cllr White said she found it “difficult” to accept this claim, adding that she has seen no “evidence” of such discretion in practice.
She outlined what she described as “the human cost of this policy”, recounting the case of a taxi driver who became homeless after falling on hard times.
“A taxi driver in our county, who had fallen on hard times, found himself homeless. He was sleeping in his car at night, still trying to work during the day,” she said.
“But when he sought social housing support, he was repeatedly told he needed audited accounts. Even his accountant attempted to plead his case to Meath County Council and he too was told the same — nothing other than audited accounts could be or would be accepted.”
“Faced with this impossible demand, he gave up working altogether, because only then could he hope to meet the criteria for the housing list. Imagine that — a man forced to abandon his livelihood, not because he wanted to, but because our system, the inability of Meath County Council to use its discretion, made it impossible for him to prove his need while still working.”
“This is not just bureaucracy — it is cruelty,” Cllr White said.
“It punishes people for being self-employed, for trying to stand on their own two feet. It forces them into destitution before they can qualify for help. That is not the spirit of social housing. Social housing is meant to be a safety net, not a poverty trap.”
Her motion called on the council to adopt a fairer approach to income verification, suggesting alternatives such as tax returns, bank statements or other Revenue-approved documentation.
“This is about fairness, compassion, and common sense,” she added.
“This unnecessary barrier should be removed to ensure that self-employed applicants are treated with dignity. As councillors we need to ensure that our housing system is one that supports people in need, not one that drives them deeper into hardship.”
She said the cost of audited accounts is “prohibitive”, noting that for many self-employed workers — “taxi drivers, tradespeople, hairdressers” — the bill can run into thousands of euro.
“Would anyone who can afford to pay for audited accounts be seeking social housing in the first place?” she asked.
Fianna Fáil councillor Sean Drew supported the motion, saying he believes “certified accounts and a notice of assessment by Revenue is more than adequate”.
Fine Gael councillor Maria Murphy proposed that the motion be referred to the Housing Strategic Policy Committee. Cllr White and other councillors agreed.