One of my kids recently moved to Scotland because he couldn't find anywhere to live in Dublin. Is really enjoying living in Edinburgh and has a lovely, affordable flat. But then he's not a part-time university lecturer in film with a pal in the Irish Times.
Homeless University Lecturer
- Thread starter Purple
- Start date
Brendan Burgess
Founder
- Messages
- 54,798
Presumably he is not 56 either with a 20 year old son?
My point - subtle I grant you - is that thinking outside the box can sometimes pay dividends.
Everyone in Ireland knows that there's been a serious and growing housing shortagefor a number of years, which leads me to wonder why someone being homeless is regarded as newsworthy.
Last edited:
Having a gig teaching one course in university does not make you a permanent full time university ancedemic unfortunately. Many regarded people are asked to teach a topic in their field in university. It gives the students variety and brings a non academic perspective to the course content. The difference is they normally have a full time job at the same time.
So the lady is question is underemployed and has been for the past four years since she stopped being a screenwriter. She may also have had monetary support from the father of her child which may have stopped when her son turned 18. And she was renting a house for much less than €1900 per month for 20 years so she was managing on her low income, supported by HAP and other social welfare help.
In hindsight she is probably regretting not looking for training in a new field or employment opportunities in the 24 months since her landlord gave notice to sell, probably when the son turned 18! She might have had a greater earning power now if she had done that. In the current era of full employment she should look hard for work first. At 58 she need to be seriously considering where to live when she has no income from earnings. I don’t envy her current options but I think considering importing modular houses from Latvia might not be top of my list.
I had a family member who rented for years end up in a mobile home at the back of a house for several years. A couple of bleak winters certainly focuses the mind and they are now living in a house again that they own. A mixture of good fortune and widening the criteria for a house that would suit helped in the end, but every month house prices went higher and I was afraid they would miss the window of opportunity due to wanting a particular house or location.
For the lady in the article her choices are tight but increasing her earnings would definitely be a step in the right direction.
So the lady is question is underemployed and has been for the past four years since she stopped being a screenwriter. She may also have had monetary support from the father of her child which may have stopped when her son turned 18. And she was renting a house for much less than €1900 per month for 20 years so she was managing on her low income, supported by HAP and other social welfare help.
In hindsight she is probably regretting not looking for training in a new field or employment opportunities in the 24 months since her landlord gave notice to sell, probably when the son turned 18! She might have had a greater earning power now if she had done that. In the current era of full employment she should look hard for work first. At 58 she need to be seriously considering where to live when she has no income from earnings. I don’t envy her current options but I think considering importing modular houses from Latvia might not be top of my list.
I had a family member who rented for years end up in a mobile home at the back of a house for several years. A couple of bleak winters certainly focuses the mind and they are now living in a house again that they own. A mixture of good fortune and widening the criteria for a house that would suit helped in the end, but every month house prices went higher and I was afraid they would miss the window of opportunity due to wanting a particular house or location.
For the lady in the article her choices are tight but increasing her earnings would definitely be a step in the right direction.
He's in full time education so it would be common for maintenance to continue up to 23. Child benefit payments would have stopped at 18 though.
It's hard not to have sympathy for anyone in this situation. It's not a unique case and I wonder why it has to be a piece about an academic type rather than an ordinary worker, be they in services, retail, industry etc. As said by another poster, paper will not refuse ink.
I had a similar experience with a HAP tenant, The tenant refused to leave saying they could not find anywhere. However, they declined assistance from two letting agents to source an alternative rental property. They had a very low rent, a good property and clearly wanted to stay put for as long as possible. I declined to offer the property to the council under tenant in situ as you do not get market rate.
Out of the blue, the tenant offered to buy the property and made an offer way below market rate due to its condition (which they are responsible for causing). They say they also looked at other properties in the area to buy. It went to an RTB hearing and they were ordered to leave.
Now, although they have the means to buy a house, they have a brand new council/housing association property.
Some may say their current housing is not my concern. In a normal vacate it would not be..However, knowing what I do, I question how people with the means to buy a home can end up getting one supplied virtually free of charge /or at a substantially subsided rent. That is as much a problem as the shortage of social housing.
The system needs a radical overhaul to ensure those with the most urgent/genuine need of housing supports are able to benefit from the limited supply.
I had a similar experience with a HAP tenant, The tenant refused to leave saying they could not find anywhere. However, they declined assistance from two letting agents to source an alternative rental property. They had a very low rent, a good property and clearly wanted to stay put for as long as possible. I declined to offer the property to the council under tenant in situ as you do not get market rate.
Out of the blue, the tenant offered to buy the property and made an offer way below market rate due to its condition (which they are responsible for causing). They say they also looked at other properties in the area to buy. It went to an RTB hearing and they were ordered to leave.
Now, although they have the means to buy a house, they have a brand new council/housing association property.
Some may say their current housing is not my concern. In a normal vacate it would not be..However, knowing what I do, I question how people with the means to buy a home can end up getting one supplied virtually free of charge /or at a substantially subsided rent. That is as much a problem as the shortage of social housing.
The system needs a radical overhaul to ensure those with the most urgent/genuine need of housing supports are able to benefit from the limited supply.