“It pays to work” says Troy as he seeks housing criteria changes

With a review into the the letting priorities of Westmeath County Council currently underway, a Longford/Westmeath Fianna Fail TD is seeking changes to the scheme to ensure that working families get priority on the housing list.

“At a time of full employment, we should send out a clear message: it pays to work,” said Deputy Robert Troy, who has criticised the the criteria being used to assess the suitability of families for social housing across the county.

“At the moment the main criteria for being allocated a house is longevity on the housing list, and the whole question of whether you are working or not doesn't seem to come into the picture atall, which is very unfair and sends out the wrong message,” he said.

Deputy Troy says some level of priority should be given to people who are working and making a contribution to society when it comes to housing allocations.

While he accepts that housing is a basic right, he added that “with rights come responsibilities” and people on the housing list who are able to work “should be working”.

The Minister of State at the Department of Finance is keen to stress that he is not singling out those “who cannot work” due to disability, ill health or single parents with young families, but added that the work record of applicants on the council's housing list “should be taken into account” and he urged the local authority to be “more imaginative” in the way they allocate housing.

“If two people were on the housing list, one of whom was working and the other who had never worked a day in his life, I know who I'd be prioritising for a house,” said Deputy Troy, who received widespread support for a recent Facebook post in which he outlined his views on the current housing allocation policy of Westmeath County Council.

“I know it's a big ask to change the scheme of letting priorities for housing, but I have made my views known to the Strategic Policy Committee (SPC) and it is now up to them to take it on board and run with it,” Deputy Troy said.