Ken O'Flynn: Urgent Plea Over 80-Year-Old's Homelessness
Ken O'Flynn raises an urgent case from his Mallow constituency where a 79-year-old woman faces eviction and has been offered placement in a homeless hub in Cork City. He asks the Minister to directly intervene in similar cases nationwide where older people are ending up in homeless accommodation.
Ken O'Flynn describes meeting a 79-year-old woman who sold her family home, exhausted her savings while renting privately without HAP support, and now faces vacating her rental by the 30th of May. He told the Minister the state's offer is to place her in a homeless hub 20 minutes from family supports and that this does not take account of her age, mobility needs or dignity.
O'Flynn frames the issue beyond statistics: rising private rental costs in Cork with two-bedroom averages reported around 2,000 per month are leading to real human hardship. He highlighted the emotional and practical consequences for older tenants displaced from their communities.
The Minister acknowledged the concern, referenced cost rental as part of the solution, and offered to take the individual case details to consider options such as Tenant in Situ or local authority intervention. O'Flynn requested direct ministerial intervention in comparable cases across the nation.
The exchange spotlights gaps between housing policy and vulnerable older renters. The case raises questions about how current housing supports address the needs of elderly tenants, the use of homeless hubs for older people, and the role of targeted interventions by local authorities and the Minister.
Immediate case and request
Ken O'Flynn describes meeting a 79-year-old woman who sold her family home, exhausted her savings while renting privately without HAP support, and now faces vacating her rental by the 30th of May. He told the Minister the state's offer is to place her in a homeless hub 20 minutes from family supports and that this does not take account of her age, mobility needs or dignity.
Local impact and human cost
O'Flynn frames the issue beyond statistics: rising private rental costs in Cork with two-bedroom averages reported around 2,000 per month are leading to real human hardship. He highlighted the emotional and practical consequences for older tenants displaced from their communities.
Policy options and ministerial response
The Minister acknowledged the concern, referenced cost rental as part of the solution, and offered to take the individual case details to consider options such as Tenant in Situ or local authority intervention. O'Flynn requested direct ministerial intervention in comparable cases across the nation.
Consequences and next steps
The exchange spotlights gaps between housing policy and vulnerable older renters. The case raises questions about how current housing supports address the needs of elderly tenants, the use of homeless hubs for older people, and the role of targeted interventions by local authorities and the Minister.
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Transcript
Minister, we've seen from the DAF reports that there have been brutal increases in cost rentals. The average in Cork is 2,000 on a two-bedroom per month home. But behind those statistics, Minister, are human lives. This week in my constituency office, I met a 79-year-old lady from the Mallow area who has worked for decades, who has raised a family, who has contributed to the community and contributed to the state and never asked the state for anything. Through no fault of her own, she's had to sell her own family home and has spent the last five years in private rent without the HAP support and has depleted and exhausted her savings completely. Her landlord is now selling. She has to vacate the property by the 30th of May. And the state has offered her, this woman who will be 80 at the end of the month, has offered her to go into a homeless hub in Cork City, away from Mallow, a 20-minute drive away from family supports and everything else, and does not take into account her age, her mobility needs and doesn't take into account the dignity of this oxygenarian. So what I'm asking you today, Minister, is to directly intervene in cases like this across the nation. And there's quite a few of those cases across the nation where people are ending up in homeless hubs at the age of 80. Thank you, Deputy. I mean, nobody wants to hear of somebody of any age, but let alone an 80-year-old person that would have to go into homeless accommodation. What I would say is that it's important to stress that we have cost rental in place, which we didn't have a few years ago, so that is helping a lot of people. But perhaps without knowing the exact details of this case, whether there's an opportunity for Tenant in Situ, for the local authority to step in, I'm not sure. But I'm happy to take the details of the case and to relay that back to the Minister in particular.