‘What cuckoo land is he in?’ Mayo councillor blasts Tanaiste

SINN FÉIN councillor Gerry Murray has accused Tánaiste Simon Harris of being out of touch, days after the Fine Gael leader’s Ard Fheis speech.

Speaking during today’s Mayo County Council meeting, councillor Murray said many people stay on social welfare to qualify for social housing because the bands are too restrictive for people.

“What cuckoo land is Simon Harris in when his officials don’t tell him that that is the situation?” he said.

Tanaiste Simon Harris told the Fine Gael Ard Fheis in Cork on Saturday that the dole should be a safety net, not a way of life. He also announced tougher penalties for people on long-term unemployment payments.

Councillor Murray said the income limits were too low.

Mayo is in Band 3, where a single person can earn no more than €30,000 net, compared with €40,000 in Band 1, which includes Dublin.

A couple with one child can earn up to €32,250 in Mayo, against €43,000 in Dublin.

The council’s housing committee has previously asked the minister to move Mayo into a higher band.

The Charlestown based representative said Sinn Féin housing spokesperson Eoin Ó Broin had backed a rise in the thresholds when he visited the county a number of weeks ago, stating that the limit in Mayo should rise by as much as €15,000 to cover people who can’t get a mortgage or can’t get access housing supports.

Councillor Murray said there was cross-party consensus that the bands should rise, so that “we can look after some of our own people that are excluded”.

He called on Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael councillors to press the Government to act.

The councillor was speaking during a debate on a motion by Aontú councillor Deirdre Lawless seeking housing list data by nationality.

He said councillors were also no longer told who was allocated council houses. That had been a courtesy in the past, he said, and should be restored.

Councillor Murray said he was dealing with people in their early 60s who were paying €1,500 a month in rent.

“These people are sick with worry”, he said, "that their pensions would not be enough to cover the rent, they will be coming on the list soon”, he added.

“What are we going to do with those people?” he asked.