Council reprimanded for ‘unfairly’ changing family’s housing record

The Ombudsman has reprimanded Galway City Council for ‘unfairly’ changing the record of a Traveller family’s waiting time on the city’s housing list.

The Ombudsman launched an investigation after a Traveller woman complained that her family had been removed from the housing waiting list by the Council.

The local authority had changed their eligibility for housing from 2005, when they first applied, to 2014.

The family had been removed from the housing waiting list in 2012 and again in 2014 when the Council said they had failed to reply to correspondence.

But the Ombudsman ruled it was unfair, and the Council agreed to backdate the family’s qualification date for housing to 2005.

This means they have been on the waiting list for 17 years.

According to the Ombudsman, the family was originally approved for housing and placed on the housing list in 2005.

In 2012, the Council removed the family from the housing list when they did not reply to the Housing Needs Assessment.

The family regularly moved location and occasionally did not receive correspondence sent to them. They also had some literacy issues, the Ombudsman said.

The family appealed, and were reinstated on to the housing list, but with a qualifying date of 2012.

But two years later they were again removed from the housing list for not replying to a questionnaire on the Traveller Accommodation Programme.  They were reinstated onto the list but this time with a qualifying date of 2014.

The Ombudsman investigated and found that the family had responded to the Housing Needs Assessment in 2011. They had provided the requested documentation, including proof of previous income signed by a Commissioner for Oaths, and a signed ‘change of address’ form.

The Council responded by asking for more documentation including proof of current income, which was provided.

“However, in response, the Council asked the family to provide two more documents – a form to be signed by their current landlord and confirmation of rent allowance rates. In a second letter issued the same day the Council informed the family that they qualified for social housing,” it said.

The Ombudsman said this second letter indicated that the re-assessment process was completed. He noted that two documents requested by the Council, was already on its files.

The investigation found it was “unclear” if text messages or phone calls were used to contact the family “in line with principles of diversity and inclusion, and recognition of Travellers’ distinct culture” as per the Council’s Traveller Accommodation Programme.

This was one of 208 complaints made to the Ombudsman by Galway people. Some 53 complaints were lodged about Galway County Council, and 42 about the City Council.

Two complaints about GMIT were received, and Galway Roscommon Educational Training Board was the subject of one complaint.

(Photo: Ombudsman Ger Deering)