Single mother in Tipperary facing homelessness told she earns too little for housing assistance
A Tipperary mother facing homelessness has been told she earns too little to qualify for housing assistance on a rental property she has found.
The issue was highlighted at the September meeting of Tipperary County Council by Carrick-on-Suir councillor Kieran Bourke, who said that the woman, who has no family connections in the town, had found a very rare rental property, but the local authority said they couldn’t approve her request for the Housing Assistance Payment (HAP) on it.
“I’m dealing with a single parent, with a four-year-old boy, who has no family in Carrick-on-Suir,” Cllr Bourke said. “She’s approved for a two-bedroom house, and she had found a two-bedroom house, it’s €1,200 per month, which, as things go, is cheap in today’s market.
“She’s been refused HAP on the basis that her income levels are too low, but that mother is so vulnerable that she has to take that property anyway, with no assistance whatsoever,” the Fianna Fáil councillor told the meeting.
In response, Jonathan Cooney, director of the council’s housing section said that HAP income thresholds are outside of the council’s control, and added that a person had to show they could afford to pay the rent on the property in order to be approved.
“The Department of Housing are looking at the HAP thresholds, and I expect movement on this by the end of the year,” Mr Cooney said.
“It is outside of our control, as you’re aware, we have some discretion on the rents and the support that we give, but it is capped. I expect movement on that in 2026, there has been a lot of work done by a group working with the Department,” he added.
Mr Cooney said the income threshold is intended to ensure that tenants receiving HAP can afford to meet their rental contribution.
Cllr Bourke said that he was confused about Mr Cooney’s answer, adding that the woman in question was told to find a house she can afford.
“The answer was very generic,” Cllr Bourke said. “I was specific in my question, this particular constituent of mine, who located a two-bedroom property for €1,200 a month, got a letter reply back only last week stating that her income couldn’t qualify her.
“She was told to go off and find something she could afford, and it’s just not out there, but my point is that we’re not in touch, or maybe we’re not allowed to be in touch, but she was told to go away and find something that just isn’t out there,” Cllr Bourke added.
The Fianna Fáil councillor again appealed for members of the council’s housing section to do anything they can to help this mother.
Mr Cooney said that while he wasn’t familiar with the case in question, he would talk to Cllr Bourke outside the meeting to see what, if anything, could be done.
But, he added that the council “cannot give HAP on a property where we know full well that the tenant cannot pay the rent”.