'I just want a home for my children' - mum on housing list for 12 years

Foxhound38

The article, for those that want to read it.

The jist of it is that she's 32, eldest child is 4, and she's been on the housing list for 12 years, and it's all the government and everyone elses fault that she doesn't have a "forever home" and shame on x, y and z etc etc.

I'm sorry, this might be an unpopular opinion but something just isn't adding up here - why would anyone go on the housing list and spend 10 years on it starting at aged 18 with no dependents if there was ever a plan to actually do what the rest of us do and work and save and THEN get a house? Stories like this make me feel like those of us who burst our b0llocks to work and pay tax and save for a mortgage are the eejits here - maybe we all should have decided to give up on any plan to be a productive member of society and went on the housing list at aged 18 - 20, maybe have a few sprogs we have no way of supporting properly and have a moan to the paper about how our subsequently crap situation is everyone else fault and hey presto; free house with no mortgage to deal with!

I have sympathy for people's circumstances and it must be difficult in her current situation with 2 kids (although why in the name of jaysus you'd have TWO kids with no way to put a roof over their heads is beyond me) but at what point in this homeless crisis can government and society not be blamed for crap life choices and a lack of being ar$ed to take responsibility for people's own lives?

Pelvis

Guaranteed she gets a house within the next 3 months, due to this article alone.

Stupid gubberment.

silverharp

cant she get the fathers to chip in

howamidifferent

It seems this country has over the past 35 years become a socialist utopia for those on the scrounge. Take, take , take , contribute nothing and whinge you are not getting enough. Go back a few decades and most people with no jobs here took the boat to England to make a life for themselves, now its I'm owed a living and a free house. Social Welfare should have a strict timeline for those on any form of it. A backstop, not a life choice. If you cant look after yourself here then off you go. I don't see why those of us who work should subsidize the lifers on the scrounge forever. :mad:

punisher5112

Why can't people have goals and work like nearly everyone else and get their own roof over their heads.

If you can't afford to have a child then stop having them especially when you know you are in hard times and strapped for cash.

Owryan

Plus, no mention of kids fathers sure why would they be expected to support the kids, that's the states job.

Effectively, turned 18 and straight on the hand outs train. There is no indication that she is struggling at the moment to make ends meet either.

Cee-Jay-Cee

silverharp wrote: »

cant she get the fathers to chip in

They were probably sailors and have gone back out to sea.

purpleisafruit

I'll preface this by saying that I haven't read the story.
The reason I can think of for her being on the housing list that long is that she applied for rent allowance and in order to be eligible, you need to be on the housing list in many counties.

gctest50

The place needs babies though or the aging population thing will get worse


"There'll be a million over-65s in Ireland by 2031"

Pinch Flat

There's people who've lived like this for several generations. They expect the State to cater for all their needs - roof over their heads, clothes for the children, bit of cash in their pocket. Seem to make a comfortable living out of it once they know all their entitlements. No intention of saving / getting a mortgage / personal responsibility - just expect the the state to house them.

FR85

I too am with you OP, it makes me fume that some people feel they have a right to something and feel they are entitled to a house.
Granted there are children involved but why have another child if you've no roof??
Loads of us work the nuts off ourselves to keep a roof over our heads and then others just put the hand out and are given it....

duffman13

gctest50 wrote: »

The place needs babies though or the aging population thing will get worse


"There'll be a million over-65s in Ireland by 2031"

Yeah we also need the younger generation contributing to society and not being dependant on state aid to counteract the aging population

qo2cj1dsne8y4k

gctest50 wrote: »

The place needs babies though or the aging population thing will get worse


"There'll be a million over-65s in Ireland by 2031"

We need future generations to take care of the older generations, sure. But the way things are going it's the wasters who can't/won't support themselves popping out a herd of children who the pension age will be pushed back to allow older people work longer to pay for the next gen of wasters relying on state handouts. Black cat black kitten and all that, they're not going to lick a work ethic off the ground.

Foxhound38

purpleisafruit wrote: »

I'll preface this by saying that I haven't read the story.
The reason I can think of for her being on the housing list that long is that she applied for rent allowance and in order to be eligible, you need to be on the housing list in many counties.

Fantastic - why is she going on the rent allowance straight out of school? 18 years of age, no dependents, not a thing wrong with her - her parents or the council or SOMEONE should have told her to put the RA and housing list forms away, print out a few CV's, get a fcuking job and pay her own rent/save for her own mortgage.

But no, it's everyone else's fault - damn gubberment, no way we won't pay etc etc.

Us taxpayers are eejits.

howamidifferent

I'm not for a minute suggesting we return to the days of the laundries or workhouses but in these cases why not have people who have no means to house themselves put up in shared accomodation with people in similar circumstances, instead of giving them houses? Surely it would be an incentive to get out and do better for yourself in the long run? If you want a house of your own then work for it...

purpleisafruit

Foxhound38 wrote: »

Fantastic - why is she going on the rent allowance straight out of school? 18 years of age, no dependents, not a thing wrong with her - her parents or the council or SOMEONE should have told her to put the RA and housing list forms away, print out a few CV's, get a fcuking job and pay her own rent/save for her own mortgage.

But no, it's everyone else's fault - damn gubberment, no way we won't pay etc etc.

Us taxpayers are eejits.

Believe me, I am in no way defending this. I'm just pointing out that as a reason someone is put on the housing list.

Winterlong

People who work in low paid jobs should be prioritised on the housing list.

Obvious Otter

gctest50 wrote: »

The place needs babies though or the aging population thing will get worse


"There'll be a million over-65s in Ireland by 2031"

Exactly and a massive pension crisis is looming too due to the major imbalance. It's become too expensive to have children. The current crop of politicans are just washing their hands with the situation.

We need more babies.

Foxhound38

purpleisafruit wrote: »

Believe me, I am in no way defending this. I'm just pointing out that as a reason someone is put on the housing list.

Ah I know that, just stories like this make me fume and this notion of a "forever home" that people don't have to save up and buy rots my hole when I'm up at 5.45 just to even save for a roof over my head.

I was sure glad to find out the other day that I'll be working until age 70 to pay for this shyte.

Wheeliebin30

Obvious Otter wrote: »

Exactly and a massive pension crisis is looming too due to the major imbalance. It's become too expensive to have children. The current crop of politicans are just washing their hands with the situation.

We need more babies.

Yes but not ones who need to be totally subsidised by tax payer's.

It's just not sustainable, everyone able bodied has to contribute to the pot.

topper75

Pinch Flat wrote: »

There's people who've lived like this for several generations. They expect the State to cater for all their needs - roof over their heads, clothes for the children, bit of cash in their pocket. Seem to make a comfortable living out of it once they know all their entitlements. No intention of saving / getting a mortgage / personal responsibility - just expect the the state to house them.

Can we replace all references to 'state' in this post with 'taxpayer' please?
Because AFAIK the state does not have any money. It is the taxpayer who pays.

Goat the dote

Saw a post on a Facebook group yesterday. Woman in a 2 bed council house looking for a bigger house, because, since she got the house she has gotten married and had 2 more children and now needs more space.
I would have thought a clever solution to that would have been to not have 2 more children if you didn't have space in your as-good-as-free house

Will I Am Not

Obvious Otter wrote: »

Exactly and a massive pension crisis is looming too due to the major imbalance. It's become too expensive to have children. The current crop of politicans are just washing their hands with the situation.

We need more babies.

Only if you have a job. And if you have a job you're paying towards raising other people's children, even though you can't afford your own. How f*cked up is that?

fizzypish

Living off of the government isn't much of a life. I don't know how people manage it. These kind of stories don't bother me anymore. I just accept some people get away with ****, some don't. My dad worked all his life. Paid his taxes. Lost his job in his late 50s ish. Tough to get re hired at that point. He had an ailment and a genuine one at that. Got cut off from Illness benefit. Put down a few really tough years. I say fair play to people who can live off of the government long term with no intentions of getting work. I couldn't look at myself in the mirror if it was me.

seamus

Foxhound38 wrote: »

Fantastic - why is she going on the rent allowance straight out of school? 18 years of age, no dependents, not a thing wrong with her - her parents or the council or SOMEONE should have told her to put the RA and housing list forms away, print out a few CV's, get a fcuking job and pay her own rent/save for her own mortgage.

Because the state has created this situation.

Some people might be brought up with the ethos to get working early, get into extra education, do crappy hours for crappy pay, burst your bollox doing unpaid overtime, live in hovels and bedsits, socialise constantly, and you might get to be a partner in an accounting firm like Daddy is by the time you're forty.

Other people are raised being told to apply for social welfare early, get on the housing list, live in substandard accommodation, have a couple of kids, and you might get a house by the time you're 30. They don't know any different. It's generational knowledge - their grandparents were given a house by the state and never taught the value of earning for oneself, so they've never been taught the same.

Neither are "right" per se, but one of them costs the state money, and unnecessarily puts the individual at danger of not only poverty, but also disease, mental illness and early death.

So we need to figure out a better way of handling this and encouraging more people into the workforce rather than signing on for benefits as soon as they turn 18.

Obvious Otter

Wheeliebin30 wrote: »

Yes but not ones who need to be totally subsidised by tax payer's.

It's just not sustainable, everyone able bodied has to contribute to the pot.

Indeed, however the way social welfare is set up in this country it puts people off work as you have to be at the bottom rung of society in order to ensure you get a house etc.

Not paying not will just lead to bigger bills in the future. The problem is the whole system needs major reform and we pay way too much tax in this country for very little return. Eventually, people aren't going to want to live in a country where the housing and rental markets are completely out of control.

The government has no idea what it's doing and is just kicking the can down the road. Social welfare is Pandora's box in Ireland and any major reform will need reform of housing and tax first.

Low income earners have a right to have children too and in the current climate they become almost completely reliant on the state. That's completely unsustainable.

It doesn't help that we allow companies to make a fortune here and only pay 12.5% tax on profits while management charges and other sneaky accounting tricks dilute profits. We're a complete joke. The only people that pay their fair share are the workers and self-employed who pay for everything in this country. Something has to change.

Sparks43

Ah sure why don't we keep bashing people on welfare.

Or even better to be able to post on the forums a current p60 is required.

Not all that are homeless are wasters. Quite a lot work but still cannot afford to rent or buy at the crazy prices nowadays. But sure let's still run them down

Gatling

Should be a case you can only take out what you put in,

Along with closing the housing lists and bringing in a minimum age of say 25 to apply for social housing ,

gazzer

So if I am reading this article correctly she spent 10 years on the housing list as a single person and then had her first child? Can you even go on the housing list as a single person at 18?

Will I Am Not

Sparks43 wrote: »

Ah sure why don't we keep bashing people on welfare.

Or even better to be able to post on the forums a current p60 is required.

Not all that are homeless are wasters. Quite a lot work but still cannot afford to rent or buy at the crazy prices nowadays. But sure let's still run them down

People need to know that what that girl did is not an acceptable way to plan your life. It's shameful and should be called out as such.

Gatling

gazzer wrote: »

Can you even go on the housing list as a single person at 18?

Yes and tens of thousands of 18 year olds do