There has been a mixed response to the news that officials are considering whether council tenants’ rents could be taken from social welfare payments.
No final decision on the idea has yet been made.
However, the Business Post yesterday reported it’s one of the proposals being looked at by a government working group, with members looking at how such a system would work.
It comes amid concerns from some local authorities about the high level of rent arrears, with Dublin City Council owed around €38 million.
Speaking to The Hard Shoulder reporter Josh Crosbie, Fine Gael Councillor Naoise Ó Muirí said there are a substantial number of rent accounts in arrears at the moment.
He observed: “From my perspective, this [proposed measure] is simple and seamless.
"In reality, it’s probably in the interest of the tenants - they have less administrative work to do, and can have peace of mind that the rent payment is gone.
"It makes collection a lot easier for the city council as well.”
He acknowledged there’s likely to be some people who won’t like the idea, and there’d likely be a “fair bit of systems work” needed to introduce it.
However, he believes it would be in everyone’s interest.
Others have voiced their strong objection to the idea.
One Dublin resident told Josh it would be an example of “government overreach”.
He said: “I think the idea is terrible - people are already struggling as is.
“The idea of going in and tapping somebody’s account for an extra €15-20 at this particular moment in time… it could be incredibly harmful.”
Independent Councillor Mannix Flynn told the Irish Examiner the vast majority of rents are paid, and taking rents from social welfare payments on a non-voluntary basis would be "an attack on the very vulnerable".
John-Mark McCafferty, CEO of Threshold, said that ultimately the best way to deal with rent arrears is to have good engagement between a tenant and management.
He acknowledged there is a challenge in terms of rent arrears in the likes of Dublin, Waterford and Galway, and that introducing this deduction system would likely be possible if it does get the green light from officials.
He said there is also a precedent, as local authority rent can already be deducted from people who opt-in to the Household Budget Scheme.
That scheme allows people receiving certain social welfare payments to deduct a certain amount from social welfare payments each week to spread the cost of bills.
