Mortgage relief for private housing deploring

A COHERENT housing policy which recognises that everyone is entitled to adequate, secure accommodation at an affordable price was called for at a seminar on public housing organised by the Law Society in Dublin yesterday.

Sister Stanislaus Kennedy, of Focus Point, criticised Government spending on subsidising the purchase of private homes, at the expense of other housing sectors. In 1994, £264 million was spent on grants and tax relief for private home owners.

"In view of the poor funding that is available to the voluntary sector to provide housing for people in need, it seems unfair that so much Government funding goes to subsidise people who want to own their own homes", Sister Stanislaus said.

"There is nothing wrong with wanting to own your own home, but subsidising home ownership, especially when it is at the expense of other housing sectors, is intrinsically unfair, because it is a subsidy to people who can afford a mortgage in the first place".

Sister Stanislaus said paying rent allowances for people on social welfare to private landlords was a hidden form of subsidy to the private sector. "This is a growing sector, which in turn is caused by lack of investment in public house building programmes".

She "deplored" the low level of funding available for voluntary, non profit housing. "How can the voluntary sector be expected to build a house big enough for a family on £33,000, or a one bed roomed apartment for £27,000?" she asked. "The voluntary sector is expected to work miracles, it seems.

"Not only is the capital available for voluntary housing hopelessly inadequate, but there is virtually no money available for the day to day maintenance and support of voluntary housing developments".

She said she was "amazed" to hear the Minister for Finance, Mr Quinn, saying the money being used to combat crime would be diverted from the services sector, and specifically mentioning social housing. "Combating crime is vitally important but should not compete with provision of homes for people out of home".

Homeless people are part of the suffering, wounded, impoverished sector, Sister Stanislaus said. The fastest growing group of homeless people is women with young children.

Of the 3,176 households on the Dublin Corporation waiting list in 1994, 40 per cent were lone mothers.

Also yesterday, the Minister of State for Housing and Urban Renewal, Ms Liz McManus, in a statement, said measures to ensure good management of local authority estates were as important as the measures being introduced by the Government to combat drugs and lawlessness on the estates.