Wexford fathers told they must have ‘full custody’ of children to be eligible for larger social housing properties
Wexford PeopleWexford fathers who have “majority custody” of their children are not being provided with suitable accommodation by the county council. Raising the issue at the March meeting of Wexford County Council (WCC), Councillor Tom Forde said any parent in this situation required social housing suitable for their needs.
Citing cases where fathers had requested to be transferred from a two-bed to a three-bed or a four-bed to cater for their children, Cllr Forde said there were a number of instances “where fathers are being told they need full custody of their children” to be eligible for larger properties.
"Fathers who have majority custody of their children should be entitled to move to a three or four-bed,” he continued. “According to our housing allocation scheme the parent with majority custody should receive the required need for bedrooms. I would ask that this be looked at and if there is a father out there, or a mother, who has the majority custody of their children and their ex-partner is not in social houses, why are they not being given a property with the required number of bedrooms?”
However, according to director of housing, Carolyne Godkin, there were often many “nuances to these cases”.
"Court orders aren’t always that straightforward, but our housing officers are aware of the allocation scheme and how it works,” she said.