Sligo Councillor urges local authority to shield struggling tenants from further rent increases

By Philip Rooney, The Sligo Champion

A motion before the December meeting of Sligo County Council heard support from a motion tabled by Cllr Thomas Healy called on Sligo County Council to “Use all measures at their disposal to ensure that those struggling with the cost of living crisis are shielded from any further rent increases in outgoings.

"Families and individuals are already facing rising costs from rent and housing costs to day to day groceries, goods and services. This is before we come into the winter months where people are stretched even further and sometimes have to decide between heating or eating.”

Cllr Healy’s motion continued, “We further call on this council to engage with relevant ministers and request funding to develop initiatives at a local level, that will ensure the most vulnerable people in our communities are supported in the difficult months ahead.”

Addressing the meeting, Cllr Healy stressed, “People are making very hard choices. They are borrowing to make ends meet.”

The motion was seconded by Cllr Arthur Gibbons who said, “People are being pushed further and further into debt and pushing them into poverty. People are taking money from a month ahead to pay bills.”

Cllr Ann Higgins also spoke in support of the motion saying, “There are major worries across households. More people are relying on charities for food, heat and santa.”

Referring to October’s budget which had a €9.4bn tax and spending package, Cllr Higgins said, “Working people in Sligo are worse off. The cost of living is beyond a crisis.”

She added “Energy costs are 30% higher than the EU average. There are no meaningful supports for people trying to get through Christmas.”

Article Funded by the Local Democracy Reporting Scheme.