Two people on housing waiting lists in Ireland have spoken out on their frustration with a seemingly never-ending wait to attain social housing. It comes as the Government last week considered a plan to use vacant social housing for Ukrainian refugees.
The plan, from the Minister for Housing, explored how to provide more accommodation to people fleeing the conflict in Ukraine. Minister O’Brien’s plan sought to speed-up the assessment of both State and privately owned vacant properties which could house refugees.
It is expected around 33,000 Ukrainian refugees will have arrived in Ireland by the end of next month; 16,788 Ukrainian refugees have so far been provided with accommodation by the State, according to latest figures.
The Minister has now seemingly abandoned those plans, following significant public outcry. Speaking on Newstalk on Sunday, Minister O’Brien said that Ukrainians will not get local authority houses, and refurbished council homes will in fact be given to people already on social housing lists.
Gabor Szocs, 52, and Aldona Malakauskiene, 62, are two such people waiting on Government housing, both of whom expressed dismay at the Government’s now-disavowed plans to use vacant social housing for Ukrainian refugees. Both say that the Government must ensure that the effort to assist Ukrainian refugees does not come at the expense of those who are on housing waiting lists or in emergency accommodation.
Mr Szocs and Ms Malakauskiene told Gript that while Ireland has a duty towards those displaced by the conflict in Ukraine, people on existing waiting lists to be housed here cannot be forgotten about, while highlighting the reality of waiting for social housing in Ireland.
Gabor, who is originally Hungarian but has been living in Ireland for the past 16 years, has been on Fingal County Council’s social housing list for a one-bedroom apartment for 12 years.
Lithuanian-born Aldona also came to Ireland 16 years ago. Aldona, who suffers from a physical disability, has been waiting for 14 years, also for one-bedroom accommodation in the same area.
Learning of the state’s now relegated plans – announced last week – to grant local authorities emergency powers to buy homes to house Ukrainian refugees in the coming weeks and months, Gabor said the proposal was a source of deep frustration for those waiting patiently to be housed.
“Not one offer of housing have I had during this time [12 years]. [it’s] totally disgraceful,” Gabor told Gript.
On application, both Gabor and Aldona were told the maximum waiting time to be housed in the area was eight years. In both cases, applicants were advised they would be housed within six to eight years. As time has gone on, both applications continue to move slowly, and as more time elapses from the original deadlines, hope has started to fade.
Gabor’s anger is not directed towards Ukrainian refugees. He insists that they have fled to Ireland in good faith and based on a promise of a better, safer future. Rather, he directs his anger and frustration firmly towards the Irish Government, for, as he puts it, making promises it cannot possibly keep when it comes to housing those in need.
The reality, he says, is that there are many just like him whose names have been gathering dust on waiting lists for social housing for years, and who have seen first-hand that supply is incapable of meeting demand, year on year.
“I should have been housed before this war started. You have to look after these people, yes, but what about those of us already here who are in need?” he says.
On his belief that the Irish government has made unrealistic promises to those fleeing the war in Ukraine, he tells me:
“To all of you who come to Ireland, refugees and non-refugees, you are welcome, but please be aware, you will meet a government which is not able to keep the promises made to its own people.”
Aldona, who suffers from arthritis which is progressively worsening, expresses similar concern for refugees, and a clear sense of empathy for those fleeing the conflict in Ukraine. She also insists the Government must prioritise those already in need here in Ireland, many of whom feel completely forgotten about.
“I am very worried about this war, and I am very sorry for the situation these people are in, but I have been waiting for an apartment for 14 years.”
Aldona, who pays rent of 500 euro a month and receives some level of disability living allowance, says her housing situation has only exacerbated her stress, and has worsened her quality of life, which is already hindered by her physical disability which requires constant medical attention.
“I have a disability; I have a serious problem walking. I am living in pain, and am having regular injections to try and help manage this pain. Because of this never-ending situation trying to be housed, I want to cry. I’m always stressed. There is absolutely no care or thought for those with disabilities.”
Aldona says she was confounded when she received a letter this month from Fingal County Council informing her that she had moved seven places down the queue for social housing.
In April 2021, Aldona, who says she has been given priority because of her physical disability, was placed at 34 on the queue. However, a letter received in April 2022 informed her that she is now at 41 on the queue of those waiting to be housed in the area.
“I was very shocked because I have been told by Fingal County Council that I have priority on the grounds of my disability,” she says. “I have been in constant contact with Fingal County Council for years now.
“When I asked ‘How can it be that I have been moved down the queue rather than progressing up it?’ I was told that that’s just the way it is, and that they will give me accommodation when I am high enough up the queue.”
Aldona says that every year, “there seems to be an excuse” from the Council as her frustration and upset over the lack of action being taken mounts.
“I’ve even been told that there are people waiting more years than you,” she adds.
Audibly upset, she says:
“I want to cry all the time. It is always promise after promise, and ‘It’s going to be ok’ and, now, I just don’t know. Not only are they breaking promises, but they’re lying. They’re not doing anything.”
Both Gabor and Aldona have been told that there is no supply of housing, leading Gabor to question how the Government can possibly house tens of thousands of refugees seeking to make Ireland home.
“It’s a nice thing to take people in and help people, but first you have to think, can you do it?
“Everybody wants to help, but really do we have the backup to house 20,000 people? We don’t. It will mean letting those people down. These are people we said we could help – but it’s clear we can’t.”
Gabor also points out that the catalyst for the setting out of a range of measures to increase the supply of housing in Ireland was not a desire to reduce the pressure on the Irish housing market. Instead, the catalyst has been the provision of homes for Ukrainian refugees.
“It’s amazing how careless the government here is,” he says. “I’ve read in the news that they can borrow 3 billion to accommodate refugees, so why could they not have borrowed this money years ago to help their own people?”
Tired of waiting, Gabor has written to the Housing Ombudsman and awaits news on his case, while Aldona also made contact with the Ombudsman as well as the Housing Minister Darragh O’Brien and a range of other TDs.
Mr O’Brien has expressed sympathy for her case, but has insisted he cannot do anything about the situation, according to Aldona.
“Everyone is nice and sympathises with me, but nothing is being done,” she says.
Describing the housing situation as ‘disgraceful’, Gabor adds: “I keep being told that properties are allocated on a basis of need, but I am obviously in need of housing, because I wouldn’t have applied if I was not in need.
“Now is the time to do something. I’ve heard enough talking; enough big words and big promises.”
In an editorial last week, Gript editors criticised the Government’s ‘out of control’ approach to Ukrainian refugees, slamming it as ‘a dereliction of duty’, penning:
“Our collective view is this: when it comes to allocating homes to people, the Irish Government should prioritise the people of Ireland. Not out of any disrespect for others, but because this is what the Irish government is for. It is why we have one to begin with.
“When it comes to deciding how many refugees we should accommodate, the Irish Government should base that decision on the needs and capacity to help of Irish people, not on the needs of the refugees.
“That, again, is what the Irish Government is for. The Irish Government has neither the duty, nor the right, to damage the interests of its own people to advance the cause of another.
“Irish people have the right to expect that their Government will work to advance their interests, alleviate their problems, and enhance the conditions in our country. These past weeks have made two things clear:
“First, that the Irish Government has transparently not done all that it could to alleviate our problems here in Ireland. Second, that it is transparently offering greater aid to the disadvantaged of a foreign nation than it offers to the disadvantaged of its own. That is a dereliction of duty.”
Gabor and Aldona’s stories seem to aptly illustrate that view. Whilst the Government’s alarm-inducing plans over social housing have been rebuffed and Government agencies scramble to find other accommodation for Ukrainians, those trapped in the endless waiting game for social housing in Ireland continue to wait for their own breakthrough.