Costello welcomes settlement of Fr. Scully house rent dispute

9 February 2015

by Cllr Joe Costello

I welcome the agreement reached between Dublin City Council and the Catholic Housing Aid Society (CHAS) over the rents to be charged to the tenants in Fr. Scully House, Gardiner Street, Dublin 1. The CHAS were seeking a deposit and an exorbitant rent from each of the new elderly tenants.

It is important that the principle of differential rent which operates throughout the local authority was maintained in the agreement.
The units in Fr. Scully House were ready for occupation many months ago and the prospective tenants have been waiting for months to move in. It is imperative that there is no further delay in providing this top quality accommodation to those who are in need of housing.

In a housing crisis, to leave new social housing units unoccupied because of a row over rents was a scandal. In the long-term, this case highlights the need for voluntary housing to be properly regulated. Some €17 million of taxpayers’ money was made available to CHAS to build Fr. Scully House.

The Government will have to put statutory measures in place to protect its investment for the future and to ensure that the voluntary housing sector fulfils its responsibilities to the public.