Council attempted to purchase Tyrrelstown houses, Alan Kelly says

Residents of a west Dublin housing estate who have been served with notices to quit their rental accommodation after a Goldman Sachs vulture fund took over the development loan for the estate went to the Dáil on Wednesday to make their case for Government intervention.

A delegation from the Tyrrelstown Tenants Action Group attended a Dáil debate on housing, where their case was raised in a motion by Anti-Austerity Alliance TD Ruth Coppinger.

Funke Tobun was part of the delegation. “We are pleading with the Government to rescue us from the vulture funds,” she said ahead of the debate.

Ms Tobun, who has been living in the same home with her husband and three children for more than eight years, said she had been "heartbroken" when she received a letter saying her rental lease would not be renewed when it expires at the end of November.

“What we want is for the Government to set up an affordable housing scheme to help these families stay in their homes,” she said.

“We know that there is a huge shortage of homes in Dublin west, and if we are forced out then we will have nowhere to go.”

Major issue

Matty Wayne, an Anti-Austerity Alliance councillor in the area, said the issue of vulture funds buying up distressed loans and then looking to sell homes was a “major issue”.

“We want to put pressure on the powers-that-be and tell them that these 40 families will not be leaving their homes,” he said.

He called on the caretaker Government to set up a scheme which would allow those who could afford the repayments to buy their homes, and for the establishment of a housing authority to allow those on social welfare or in low-paid employment to be able to remain in the homes they currently have.

Council purchase

During the debate Minister for the Enviroment Alan Kelly said the local authority in Fingal had attempted to purchase the houses in Tyrellstown .

He said Fingal county council and housing association had been in touch and he had been working towards purchasing the units.

“And I don’t want to get into too much detail on that,’’ he added.

Mr Kelly welcomed Tyrellstown residents, who were following the debate from the public gallery, and said he had proposed in the past that tenancies would be protected in the event of a property sale.

“I also proposed that certain models of rent controls be implemented,’’ he added.