Ken O'Flynn

Overall sentiment: -0.05
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We have seen from the Daft report that there have been brutal increases in the cost of rent. The average in Cork is €2,000 per month for a two-bedroom home. Behind those statistics are human lives. This week in my constituency office, I met a 79-year-old lady from the Mallow area who worked for decades, raised a family and contributed to the community and the State. She never asked the State for anything. Through no fault of her own, she had to sell her family home and has spent the past five years in private rental accommodation without HAP support. She has depleted and exhausted her savings, and her landlord is now selling. She has to vacate the property by 30 May. The State has offered this woman, who will be 80 by the end of the month, a place in a homeless hub in Cork city, which is a 20-minute drive from Mallow and from family supports and everything else are. This does not take into account her age, her mobility needs or the dignity of this octogenarian. I am asking the Minister today to directly intervene in cases like this across the nation, of which there are quite a few. People are ending up in homeless hubs at the age of 80.

Sentiment score: -0.05