South Dublin families in social housing with adult children who work are “being punished” with higher rents, a local councillor has argued.
Social housing rents in the area are already higher than the national average and South Dublin County Council is reviewing how much it charges its tenants.
Adult children who work are considered ‘subsidiary earners’, if they earn over a certain salary threshold.
Neighbouring Dublin City Council has announced that subsidiary workers will pay €40 a week - nearly double the previous rate of €21.
On Newstalk Breakfast, independent Councillor Madeleine Johansson believes families with adults children are home should be exempt from further rent rises.
“Children that are living at home and working are currently actually paying a lot more in South Dublin than they would be in other county councils,” she explained.
“So, because there is no cap on subsidiary earners in South Dublin, you have a situation where families with children that are working out of children living at home because they can't afford to move out.
“Those families are essentially being penalised because of the housing crisis.
“So, they are paying, on average, €130 a month more than similar families in other councils around the country.”
Keys in a door lock.Picture by: Alamy.com. Cllr Johansson described such families as “being punished” by the system, all at a time when they have few other options.
“They can't afford to move out and privately rent because private rents are absolutely crazy, particularly in Dublin,” she said.
“So, they're forced to stay in their parents' home; they probably don't want to do that, but they have no other choice but to do that.
“Then they're being penalised because they actually want to go out and work and contribute to society - and I don't think that that's fair.”
Cllr Johansson urged South Dublin County Council to consider a cap on the amount of rent paid by subsidiary earners.
“In other councils, that might be €50 or €40 a week and whatever their income is, that is the cap in terms of what they pay,” she said.
“Which I think is a fair way of doing things when you have families who are living in very overcrowded conditions.
“Because let's remember here that you have adult children - sometimes several adult children - still living at home and sometimes with partners and all that.
“So, you can have a lot of people actually earning an income and still living in very overcrowded conditions - they might be paying actually more rent than they would be doing in the private market.”
Main image: A split of Euro banknotes and keys. Pictures by: Alamy.com.
