Homeless family sues Kildare County Council over emergency accomodation

A mother and her two young children fear they will have "to sleep rough" because Kildare County Council have refused to provide them with emergency accommodation, the High Court has heard.

The mother is “at cracking point”, it was stated.

The mother said she receives various State allowances and could only find three suitable properties for her and her children within her price ranges. None of the owners of those properties would take persons in receipt of rent allowance, she said.

She has been on the council’s housing list for some years and went on the list prior to her children being born.

The family, who cannot be named for legal reasons, have brought judicial review proceedings aimed at quashing the Council’s decision refusing accommodation and directing it to reconsider the family’s application

The woman claims the refusal is unlawful on grounds including no proper reasons were given by the Council for its decision.

The family, represented by Teresa Blake SC,  were living in private rented accommodation with the mother’s former partner up until October 2015, the court heard.

Cracking point

After the relationship ended, the woman and her children, both aged under three years, had been staying at different locations with friends and relatives.

That was only meant to be a temporary measure but the family have been unable to secure alternative accommodation, counsel outlined.

The mother attended at Kildare County Council’s offices on January 6th, 7th and 8th last seeking emergency accommodation. On January 8th, she was told her application had been turned down.

Counsel said the family were given no reasons why they were not suitable for emergency accommodation.

The failure to provide them with somewhere to stay breached the local authority’s own accommodation scheme and the family’s constitutional rights, she argued.

In a sworn statement, the mother said she feared the “detrimental effects” being “forced to sleep rough” would have on her two children while she herself was also “at cracking point”.

She said the family had been unable to secure private rented accommodation since leaving the premises which she and her former partner had shared.

Permission to bring the action was granted, on an ex parte basis, by Ms Justice Deirdre Murphy. Noting the urgency of the matter, the judge returned it to Thursday.