Galway Bay FM Newsroom - The decision by Housing Minister Darragh O'Brien to increase in the Housing Assistance Payment (HAP) discretion rate to 35% from next month has been welcomed by City West Councillor Niall McNelis.
However, the Labour councillor has also added that while welcome, the scheme is no substitute for building new homes.
Councillor McNelis argues that there is a fundamental lack of supply in the housing market and urged the minister to progress the implementation of the Income Eligibility Scheme as laid out in the Housing for All plan and ensure that we revisit the income limits to qualify for social housing.
Speaking to John Mulligan, Councillor McNelis says that there are hard pressed families in Galway city who are struggling not just with the rise in the cost of living, but also with rents that have soared in the last five years:
