Online misinformation about housing allocations highlighted

Abuse of staff in the housing department and misinformation online about allocations were highlighted at the November meeting of Westmeath County Council.

Members adopted the Housing Allocations Scheme 2025, which gives priority to homeless applicants and provides for “right-sizing”.

Cllr Mick Dollard said there was “a lot of misinformation on social media, especially in the area of social housing”. He said those longest on the housing list should be given priority, and local councillors should be consulted when houses are allocated.

Homeless people, particularly women and children, should be accommodated, and that no one should be in emergency accommodation for longer than two years, he said as he proposed the adoption of the scheme.

Cllr Alfie Devine said rural people in their 60s and 70s who do not have access to funds are trapped in houses that are not fit for human habitation and cannot afford to modernise them. He called for a scheme whereby they could sell their houses and give some of the money to the council to rehouse them. That would free up the original houses for those who would be able to do them up and extend them, he said. He claimed he came across four or five such situations in the last 12 months.

Cllr Ken Glynn agreed that “length on the list is paramount”. He claimed there was misinformation “out there about shorter lists”. He said some applicants are approved on medical grounds and discretion is essential. Both he and Cllr David Jones said that when a couple break up and one party moves out, that person has to reapply for housing in their own name and goes to the bottom of the housing list. Compassion was called for in such situations.

Cllr Jones said that abuse of housing staff would not be tolerated. He spoke of abuse of staff online and how unfair it was to the staff members and their families. He said misinformation was being posted on social media suggesting that people were arriving in the country and going straight on the housing list. “That is not happening; that’s not how it works; I have yet to come across a circumstance where that has happened,” he stated.

Cllr Niall Gaffney said homelessness and the threat of it were “the biggest challenges in our society”. He accepted that the council do everything they can when someone presents as homeless.

Cllr Julie McCourt thanked the housing team for their efforts: “I know housing is under pressure,” she said. Cllr Aoife Davitt, asked that consideration be given to older people who want to relocate to Westmeath because they have family here. Jackie Finney, director of housing, said that such individuals can apply and make the case for their link to the county. Supports are available to them and to older people moving back from abroad that have a link to the county. The Age Friendly support worker is a good contact for older people wishing to access all supports, she added. Ms Finney said homelessness was a priority in the housing scheme. She said nine families have exited homeless emergency accommodation to date this year. The priority for the council and the Midland Regional Services is to move away from private emergency accommodation because it is expensive and not suitable. Family hubs, temporary accommodation services and other types of transitional accommodation are being explored, she stated.

Ms Finney said there is a scheme whereby an older person who is in unsuitable housing and is eligible for social housing can be accommodated. It is there, but it rarely used, she stated.

Medical requirements and change of circumstance cases are given priority, but it comes back to availability, she said. “We’d love to be able to just move a family, but it is dependent on supply.”

When a family member dies and someone is living in the house, if they are not eligible for housing, the staff and the homeless prevention officer will work with them. Where there is a breakdown in a relationship, there is no obligation to house the person who leaves, and they go on the list, the meeting was told. Ms Finney said that all efforts are made to ensure the protection and support of the housing staff. The Housing Allocation Scheme was adopted on the proposal of Cllr Dollard, seconded by Cllr McCourt.