Sir, – The Government’s announcement on Friday last that it will seek to end discrimination by landlords against those on certain social welfare payments is to be cautiously welcomed and will need to be rigorously enforced.
Although we have for generations been known as a nation of home owners, experiences of recent years have made this model unattainable or unattractive for many of us.
The confusion between Irish Water and landlords’ organisations over who was to pay the charge has exacerbated the poor perception of tenants, by characterising them as bill-shirkers who evade the law when it comes to public or private utilities, and I anticipate a similar discriminatory tone in the “no rent allowance accepted” camp.
Many of the 750,000 rental tenants in Ireland are nothing close to shirkers.
They have registered for Irish Water, pay bin charges, register their children in local schools, volunteer and participate in their communities, take pride in their homes – indeed live in the same ways as their owner-occupier neighbours.
As we try to solve an unprecedented housing crisis, dispelling negative stereotypes can only assist us in building an unbiased housing environment in which to raise the next generation, and equal treatment for those families who never intended surviving on social welfare. – Your, etc, SAMANTHA LONG Terenure, Dublin 6w.