Rent allowance reduced by 8% without a murmur from the media

by Michael Gallagher Mon Sep 14, 2009 14:58

...facts and figures. I wonder will the local councils and corporations now follow suit and give a rent reduction to all social welfare etc dependents after the cuts? They wasted no time increasing rents after previous budgets.

by Greg T Mon Sep 14, 2009 17:45

This cut was implemented back in June if I remember correctly. There was no warning, just the letter that was mentioned announcing the cut.

by PoorPerson Mon Sep 14, 2009 17:55

But I thought somebody should highlight what happened. I didn't see it discussed anywhere

by wiseguy Mon Sep 14, 2009 18:44

There are some people out there who never worked a day in their life or contributed to the state in any shape or form. And they've been on rent allowance/dole since they were entitled to get it.

So I welcome the increase, I also know that many have been laid off during the year and have never claimed off the state and my heart goes out to them.

by worker Tue Sep 15, 2009 06:20

Ireland had effectively full employment during the boom years. How does this square with your harmful stereotype wiseguy? Where were all these dole scroungers then? They were going to work just like you were wiseguy.

The fact is the right and the rich cultivate this notion of the dole scrounger to allow for cutting back social programs and safety nets. Guess where the money saved usually goes to? Lower taxes for the rich and bank bailouts.

The biggest dole scroungers this state has ever known will be the property developers and banks involved in nama. Their scrounging from the state will far outstrip that of a few poor unfortunate people incapable of holding down a minimum wage job. and will leave us all in debt for generations.

Most ordinary people are at most a few weeks wages away from needing these safety nets. How can such people be so easily convinced to support the drive to remove their own safety nets? It seems pretty silly behaviour to me. Just because you don't wish to have to avail of a social safety net, doesn't mean you should not want it to be there for you in case you fall, through no fault of your own.

by paul o toole Wed Sep 16, 2009 09:28 pauljotoole at eircom dot net

If your looking for a scrounger look no further than the ballot sheet at election time.
As if all our politicians werent getting extortionate pay already, their expense sheets puts their pay in the ha'penny place.
Bertie Aherne one time was asked what he earned and could not answer.....he'd recieved 13 payrises in 2.5 years. John O'Donohue blew 250,000 of your money ....besides his wages , and he 'understands' that ....'some of the expenses may seem a little high'. ....Not that they were high...in other words...we dont understand.
The 30 miles of M50 is owned and paid for by the people of this state....ehem....except for the 1/2 KM before the bridge over the valley where the liffey flows. That bit is owned by NTR/FF, and by the time the contract is up...it will cost the taxpaying, toll bridge dubliners 30 times the initial cost...and where does the profit go......NTR/FF...national toll roads (private) and Fianna Fail (political).

This is what is meant by Public/ private partnership.....we pay for it....they rob us for decades....

The Port Tunnel was the biggest and most expensive project undertaken by this state...Now there is talk of moving Dublin Port up to Dundalk. The net resuls will be that the wealthiest business men with their appartments down on what used to be dockland property will benefit with their very own private tunnel from where they work-IFSC, to the airport.
More extortion of taxpayers money.

I'd love to see more people taking advantage of the welfare system...even abusing it , than see more politicians getting away with abusing their role as public 'servants'. The damage they do is catastrophic....welfare fraud is a pittance if compared.

So lay off the struggling classes and work together to expose the real corruption

by Balancer - - Wed Sep 16, 2009 13:38

I think , when confronted with a choice, it is much better to cut the Rent Allowance than the Dole itself -
cutting the Rent Allowance affects so many, cutting the Dole affects almost everybody on welfare.

And, in fact , the rents are much too high, and the government should do something about these rackrenting landlords .

by PoorPerson Wed Sep 16, 2009 15:10

we are still expected to pay boom rents on bust property. And you can be pretty sure the government aren't going to do anything much about that in a hurry.

"I think , when confronted with a choice, it is much better to cut the Rent Allowance than the Dole itself -"

don't worry, you can be sure they'll be cutting that too

"cutting the Rent Allowance affects so many, cutting the Dole affects almost everybody on welfare."

and cutting both affects some poor people much more than others.
The real question should be why not make cuts in huge expenses, pensions and salaries afforded to upper / middle management in civil service and politicians? And maybe stop bailing out developers and banks through nama. instead of hitting the poorest until they bleed.

"And, in fact , the rents are much too high, and the government should do something about these rackrenting landlords ."

but one of the main points of the post was that they weaseled out on doing this and left the tenant with a letter and a suggestion that they negotiate a reduction.
Like that will happen for most people!! fat chance.

by Greg T Sun Sep 20, 2009 10:27

Waiting period of up to several months for rent allowance assessment to be completed are going to result from recent changes in social welfare legislation. In the meantime more and more people are undoubtedly going to become homeless.
http://www.corkindependent.com/local-news/local-news/co...nces/
(It's nice to see a Labour TD taking action on this issue). As if that isn't worrying enough, just been told by someone I know (coincidentally also in County Cork), that new Rent Allowance claims are not being processed at all in her area. She was basically told (informally) that her claim was a waste of time and that due to staff shortages new applications will not get seen to. Sounds suspiciously like yet another stealth on the sly cut. Meanwhile the NAMA plans to bailout the rich continue, gombeen politics as usual. No doubt these developments will please the far-right troll on this tread, but anyone else know similar stories?

by shoegirl Mon Sep 21, 2009 17:40

"The letter supplied to rent allowance seekers stated that "this letter can be used to negotiate a reduction from your landlord"
In other words, it is up to each tenant to negotiate with their landlord for a reduction on an individual basis. Good luck there"

In other words - screw you?
Contrary to popular mythology, landlords are NOT reducing rents. I STILL see the same rent levels as I did 2 years ago when I moved in here. They are not putting rents up but instead hiking up ancillary charges such as waste, etc. I've even seen landlords (and with no law against this) pass the extra profits they wish to earn to tenants by increasing the unit rates on ESB meters to make tenants pay more. (And pocket the extra cash generated of course - I can find no law in place in Ireland to stop landlords doing this, or the other common one, passing directly charges such as PRTB charges to their tenants).

What I want to know is how long will it be before we start hearing of landlords charging the new 200 euro tax on 2nd properties directly to the tenant? Again NOTHING in the legislation to stop landlords from slapping this as a charge to tenants.

by Tenant - - Tue Sep 22, 2009 12:55

Yes, the Rent Allowance will be hit hardest of all in December's Budget.
I would guess , cut by about 20 per cent., 50 per cent for under Twenties .
And with the fall in the value of property, rents coming down, mostly due to thousands of unemployed guest workers heading home, this is the way it will be justified.
Parents too, who actually want the abolition of the Rent Allowance, to get their little sons and daughters back home out of those wicked flats, have been putting pressure on Mary Hanafin, and this too will be seized upon as an excuse - it will be just like a similar campaign to ' Passive Smoking Can Kill ' , with lurid pictures painted of Flatland, drugs, sex, drink, orgies etc etc etc

I can see it right now.

Basically, the news media don't report it because journalists generally can't stand rackrenting landlords, many of them victims of the same Ogres when they were starting out.

Can't say I blame them !

by Tenant - - Tue Sep 22, 2009 13:10

And, of course, the murders in flatland, such as that tragic murder over tthe weekend of that lovely 24-year-old girl in Leighlinbtidge, Carlow, will also be hauled out as the deadly danger of rented flats etc for young people .

We might be better off that the journalists are ignoring the rent allowance decreases in the papers - but what I did think was savage was the fiver reduction a few months back in the rent allowances of the residents of the Iveagh Hostel in Dublin, and all other such hostels throughout the country.

The Iveagh is still good value, though, as probably the best hostel in these islands - that's why it's always full of Dubs in the Know !