No help for Tipperary families as county excluded from homelessness funding
Families in Tipperary are being left behind in the fight against homelessness as new government funding excludes the county.
An extra €50million in funding has been allocated to stop people from falling into homelessness, but does not apply to the tenant in situ scheme, which allows local authorities to purchase houses when landlords decide to sell, saving families from becoming homeless.
However, the funding is only for eight county councils, with Tipperary County Council not included.
Sinn Féin councillor Annemarie Ryan said that the housing crisis continues to put huge pressure on the council.
"This funding is only for eight city/county councils, excluding Tipperary, which is under enormous pressure to accommodate the rising number of people presenting as homeless,” Cllr Ryan said.
"We have people contacting us daily who are homeless, couch surfing, sleeping in cars, or have had to move back into their parents’ home, what hope have they got of finding a place of their own?” she added.
Party colleague David Dunne said that the fact that this extra funding doesn’t apply to the tenant in situ scheme will force more families into becoming homeless.
"The Government has cut the funding to the Tenant in Situ Scheme, this scheme worked in 2024 as it prevented families from becoming homeless, as the council had a budget to purchase the properties,” Cllr Dunne said.
"Now, that safety net has been removed by the government, forcing more families into homelessness,” he added.
The new funding can only be used for vacant acquisitions for large families and single people, it is understood.
The two Tipperary councilors say that the homelessness situation is much worse than the official figures as there are many individuals that don’t fall into the government’s “narrow” metric to measure homelessness.
"The slashing of tenant in situ funding and the repeated government failure to meet their housing targets, means that a secure home remains beyond the reach of many in our community,” they said in a joint statement.
Cork City Council, Dublin City Council, Dun Laoghaire-Rathdown, Fingal, Galway City, Limerick City and County, South Dublin and Waterford City and County councils have all been awarded funding.