Social housing needs from repossessions can create ‘virtuous circle’ - Burton

SIMON CARSWELL

Minister for Social Protection Joan Burton has said the need for more social housing to

provide accommodation for people whose homes had been repossessed could create a “win-win” situation for the economy.

She said building more homes could create a “virtuous circle” by providing people with family homes while at the same time generating jobs.

Speaking in Washington, Ms Burton said comments this week by Department of Finance secretary general John Moran that people in mortgage arrears would require social housing were "self-evident".

Create employment

The Minister said there was an opportunity for the Government to make a serious investment in social housing that is “carefully selected, designed and located in areas of need

”.

Many of the country’s long-term unemployed had jobs in the construction industry, and building more social housing would help create employment for them, she said.

“You can create a virtuous circle where it is a win-win situation for the Irish economy, for putting people back to work and for families who have not been able to get a long-term sustainable home,” said the Minister.

Ms Burton denied social welfare rates were discouraging the unemployed from seeking work.

“Are social welfare rates too high? I would say that the answer is absolutely no. They are calculated to enable people to live and provide for their families with some level of decency,” she said. “Nonetheless, as

OECD statistics show, if we did not have an adequate social welfare system the levels of poverty in Ireland would be enormous."

Ms Burton's department challenged a key finding in this week's Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development report, which said that, unlike in other countries, some jobless Irish couples receiving benefits see only limited income gains when one of them secures a job.

Rent supplements

The department disputed the conclusion, noting

an accompanying table in the report included a rent supplement. The table listed the supplement as one of the benefits the average jobless couple receives when, the department notes, less than 8 per cent receive rent supplements.