Homeless campaigner is a fraud. Mod Note #1835

Stheno

rebelwithcause wrote: »

Well you will be pleased to know you can't inherit a tenancy. If you are on the tenancy with someone else and they die, you can remain on, if you aren't on lease you get evicted. You can' pass on a tenancy and you have to fulfil the statutory requirements for social housing to be added to a tenancy. Sometimes. I can't understand the bitterness towards people and the realise it's based on misinformation. If I thought you could pass on tenancies maybe I would be resentful and bitter too!

I'm fairly resentful of the likes of Erica living in a hotel as the accommodation she's been offered is not of her liking and then whinging about having to live in a hotel

The irony!!!

rebelwithcause

Stheno wrote: »

So why not continue working keep the fis and study evenings or part time? Plenty of working people do it?

So that would leave how much time for her daughter? Is it too much we would expect a child to have a Mother around?

rebelwithcause

Gatling wrote: »

Too much effort I'd say ,

Listen to Lynn ruane story she had to sneak in and out of college because she couldn't afford to pay her crèche fee's ,
And the fact she walked away from council apartment because she wanted something better for her and her kid and went and done it herself

All we are getting is excuses in here

Actually Lynn is very honest that without OPFA she could not have done it and she was receiving it right up until last year. Erica is looking for same chance as Lynn, council apartment and some social welfare payment. Lynn is a hero but when Erica is seeking nothing more than Lynn, she is vilified??

Gatling

Stheno wrote: »

I'm fairly restful of the likes of Erica living in a hotel as the accommodation she's been offered is not of her liking and then whinging about having to live in a hotel

The irony!!!

Imagine now she actually had to pay to stay in her hotel

Stheno

rebelwithcause wrote: »

So that would leave how much time for her daughter? Is it too much we would expect a child to have a Mother around?

Well I'm fairly sure plenty of working parents work full time, study and raise families.

She works 29 hours a week, part time studies generally take less than 20 hours a week, so that still a fair chunk of time she has free

Your kinda starting to clutch at straws here tbh

Gatling

rebelwithcause wrote: »

Lynn is a hero but when Erica is seeking nothing more than Lynn, she is vilified??

One told the truth and one is clearly telling lies and bull****ing the country with this nonsense "Forced to live in a hotel free of charge" or having to pay for utilities"
While working .

How bout we cut the bs and excuses

JPCN1

rebelwithcause wrote: »

So that would leave how much time for her daughter? Is it too much we would expect a child to have a Mother around?

Plenty of Mothers doing long daily commutes that they'd rather spend with their kids because they're paying mortgages or rent where they can afford.
You do not have the right to live in a house or an area of your choosing especially if you're not paying for it.

Berserker

rebelwithcause wrote: »

So that would leave how much time for her daughter? Is it too much we would expect a child to have a Mother around?

Plenty of people work full time, keep a home with kids and study. It's far from uncommon. This person seems to want everything handed to her on a plate, for nothing. She, along with those in politics who championed her, should be exposed. She was offered a 12 month lease, in a lovely part of Dublin. If she can't get her house in order in that period of time then there is something else going on with her. She might be trying to get a cushy job in politics for herself. Getting paid €100K per annum, excluding expenses, to sit on the opposition benches criticising others sounds about right for her.

Stheno

rebelwithcause wrote: »

Actually Lynn is very honest that without OPFA she could not have done it and she was receiving it right up until last year. Erica is looking for same chance as Lynn, council apartment and some social welfare payment. Lynn is a hero but when Erica is seeking nothing more than Lynn, she is vilified??

He, Erica is working the past five years is she not? Should all working people be able to choose to go on welfare to attend college?

The Truth Man

jimmy blevins wrote: »

Goes to show how social media is not a replacement for proper journalism or social activism, but a **** stirring machine for populist bulll crap.

Very true although the likes of RTE, Newstalk, The Journal, IT etc haven't covered themselves in glory either, they still refuse to even cover this! Journalism is dead in this country, just populist bull**** on the Twitter echo chamber.

BaaLamb

rebelwithcause wrote: »

So that would leave how much time for her daughter? Is it too much we would expect a child to have a Mother around?

Jeez thanks, will you pay my mortgage and bills so I can stay home with my 3 kids? Come on, you are doing her no favours with this line of argument.

rebelwithcause

Stheno wrote: »

Well I'm fairly sure plenty of working parents work full time, study and raise families.

She works 29 hours a week, part time studies generally take less than 20 hours a week, so that still a fair chunk of time she has free

Your kinda starting to clutch at straws here tbh

Parents, slightly different if you're doing it alone!

The Truth Man

wigsa100 wrote: »

I've done a good bit of work with a homeless charity over the past number of years. I'm disgusted by this but not surprised. The vast majority of cases are genuine but there are always a few dishonest scroungers. I had a feeling Erica was one of them for a while now so I'm kind of glad she's been exposed now. I realise there are issues with violation of data protection but that doesn't really bother me because it is an important exposure of the facts.

The last furore about BTEA was what began to irritate me. She broke the story as if she was entitled to receive the payment and that some cold hearted civil servant had stamped a big "DECLINED" on her application for no good reason. She would have known perfectly well that that she was never entitled to the payment, so going through the application process was purely an effort to get a headline. Then people have the audacity to demand that an exception to the rule be made for her, ignoring the tens of thousands who have had to go through the proper process or never got the chance to do so at all. Then tweeting a picture of the letter of refusal and tweeting "Thanks @JoanBurton for shattering my dreams" or some nonsense like that.

She was offered an apartment in a lovely part of Dublin with a cheque for rent of about 18,000 euro for the year, in addition to all the welfare assistance she gets already, which she turned down in favour of sharing a hotel room with her unfortunate daughter. That should say enough for everyone.

There is far too much cheerleading for scroungers in Ireland these days. When the lines get blurred between those who actually need help and those who want everything for free, it's the genuine cases that inevitably lose out. Particularly when one of the fraudsters is in national headlines every week. And make no mistake about it, this woman is a fraudster.

This post is totally spot on, and indeed I must agree that her antics with the BTEA were the last straw for me. Seeing a Government minister forced to answer for that and it on the front pages were too much for me considering she rightfully didn't qualify and knew well what the rules were. Another publicity stunt.

Seeing the media now ignore this today says it all for me. This womans Media career is hopefully at an end as she cannot be taken seriously now.

Stheno

rebelwithcause wrote: »

Parents, slightly different if you're doing it alone!

Parents as in many parents study whether single parents or not

Tasden

rebelwithcause wrote: »

Actually Lynn is very honest that without OPFA she could not have done it and she was receiving it right up until last year. Erica is looking for same chance as Lynn, council apartment and some social welfare payment. Lynn is a hero but when Erica is seeking nothing more than Lynn, she is vilified??

She is not being vilified by people on this thread, they are quite rightly pointing out that she has plenty of options and she is being hypocritical claiming that she has been forced into a situation when she hasn't been.
Lynn made do with what she had. She used the supports available to her and made a go of things through hard work. Erica is more than capable of doing the same. Yeah it's a pity she is not entitled to the same payment as that woman was but there have been plenty of changes made that have had an impact on people all across the country in all kinds of circumstances- mortgage interest supplement, increases to taxes, usc, water charges, property tax, respite grants, central bank lending rules etc etc- and people have had to reassess their situation to suit that. Some people got to benefit from some supports at one stage and are now missing out on others, Erica benefitted from fis when it suited her and now she is missing out on btea. Some people never got any supports, some got them all.
Why should she be any different?

Gatling

rebelwithcause wrote: »

Parents, slightly different if you're doing it alone!

Plenty of working single parents doing it by themselves ,
Plenty of single parents putting themselves through college ,and working ,

It's what been a parent is ,when you need to buy something or treat yourself you have to make sacrifices ,
That means either working while studying or saying ill have to work full time until im in a position to afford to return to education .

Key word is sacrifices

Jawgap

rebelwithcause wrote: »

So that would leave how much time for her daughter? Is it too much we would expect a child to have a Mother around?

Ah here, I did my law degree part time in the evening. Trust me, night feeds are a great time to get an hour of uninterrupted reading in. I followed that up with a PhD finished while working part time and yes I still had plenty of time for my kids.

I've neatly finished a second post-doc qualification because I wanted to be studying when my kids were studying to encourage them.....maybe if her daughter saw how hard she was working maybe she'd be an inspiration?

anewme

rebelwithcause wrote: »

No but she said it on the TV documentary that originally put her in public domain.

https://twitter.com/1GaryGannon/status/767323884567814144

To be fair, an alternative is mentioned.

However it's very carefully scripted. If she'd said on air she was offered a 2 bed apartment in Clontarf plus a second offer that would have been the end of Public sympathy.

She mentions she would be vulnerable if the rent went up. What person in Ireland with a mortgage or renting would not be in the same boat when the interest rates go up?

People don't like to be made fools of and this tag line of "forced" to live in a cramped Hotel.... has backfired.

The Media can be cruel....they build you up and then cut you down and you can go from Hero to Zero in the space of one headline.

I read in one of the media stories that she is to meet with the EU again. Not sure how true it us but I will be writing to my Elected Representatives to voice my concerns that this woman represents Ireland in any capacity as the face of true homelessness in Ireland.

I wonder how the homeless charities feel about this development- have any of them made a comment- it is sure to not have a positive impact on their work.

Only in Ireland: A Taoiseach/minister for Finance who had who had no Bank Account!

Now, a homeless person who refused a two bed apartment in Clontarf but is forced to live in a Hotel.

It's like something off Father Ted!

Donald Trump

Lets do some calculations:

29 hours a week at minimum wage nets 262 a week. 265.35 before tax.

FIS will top that up with another 147.39 per week. (60% of 511-265.35)

Child benefit of 140 a month on top of that.

Assuming a conservative 4 weeks per month, that's 1777.56 into her hand a month.

How many couples out there have that left over after paying all their income taxes and rent at the end of the month? I'm sure a few, but definitely not all!

Above is conservative. If she makes more than minimum wage she'll have even more

mariaalice

Has anyone call SF out about there support of her account of the issue.

She turned down the apartment because they were in the private rented sector and is looking for social housing instead, she appears to want to skip the council waiting list, to me she seems a bit naive and silly she must have know this would have come out.

Stheno

Donald Trump wrote: »

Lets do some calculations:

29 hours a week at minimum wage nets 262 a week. 265.35 before tax.

FIS will top that up with another 147.39 per week. (60% of 511-265.35)

Child benefit of 140 a month on top of that.

Assuming a conservative 4 weeks per month, that's 1777.56 into her hand a month.

How many couples out there have that left over after paying all their income taxes and rent at the end of the month? I'm sure a few, but definitely not all!

Above is conservative. If she makes more than minimum wage she'll have even more

If you calculate it over 52 weeks and divide then by 12, on a monthly basis, it's 1928 per month

No rent, utilities etc to come out of that.

She must be saving a fortune.

lawlolawl

Donald Trump wrote: »

Lets do some calculations:

29 hours a week at minimum wage nets 262 a week. 265.35 before tax.

FIS will top that up with another 147.39 per week. (60% of 511-265.35)

Child benefit of 140 a month on top of that.

Assuming a conservative 4 weeks per month, that's 1777.56 into her hand a month.

How many couples out there have that left over after paying all their income taxes and rent at the end of the month? I'm sure a few, but definitely not all!

Above is conservative. If she makes more than minimum wage she'll have even more

Awesome, she's making only a couple of hundred a month less than me and i work 48 hours a week and i would get **** all if i lost my job because i don't have any crotch-spawn that i can't adequately provide for.

The system is really fair and doesn't reward poor decision making at all. I'm so glad that a huge chunk of my wages per week in tax can go to this delightful woman and her destined-to-be-useless kids.

Can i have my free house in a city now please?

BaaLamb

Stheno wrote: »

If you calculate it over 52 weeks and divide then by 12, on a monthly basis, it's 1928 per month

No rent, utilities etc to come out of that.

She must be saving a fortune.

Does she not have to pay some rent to the council while at hotel?

I assume the figure you've calculated above is before she buys food, fuel for her car etc. etc.

BaaLamb

lawlolawl wrote: »

Awesome, she's making only a couple of hundred a month less than me and i work 48 hours a week and i would get **** all if i lost my job because i don't have any crotch-spawn that i can't adequately provide for.

The system is really fair and doesn't reward poor decision making at all. I'm so glad that a huge chunk of my wages per week in tax can go to this delightful woman and her destined-to-be-useless kids.

Can i have my free house in a city now please?

I've lost my job recently and I've been told I don't qualify for JSB and probably won't qualify for JSA either. I'm not having much luck finding work and I don't think anyone is going to pay my mortgage for me.

Tasden

BaaLamb wrote: »

Does she not have to pay some rent to the council while at hotel?

I assume the figure you've calculated above is before she buys food, fuel for her car etc. etc.

In fairneas I doubt it comes close to what other parents are paying in mortgage/rent and childcare fees. On top of everything else you mention there.

lawlolawl

BaaLamb wrote: »

Does she not have to pay some rent to the council while at hotel?

.

I think there's some laughable token amount involved and even if she didn't pay it, what do you think would happen?

Donald Trump

Stheno wrote: »

If you calculate it over 52 weeks and divide then by 12, on a monthly basis, it's 1928 per month

No rent, utilities etc to come out of that.

She must be saving a fortune.

Well I would guess that if she moved into the house she'd probably have to pay some bills like electricity and gas etc. I'm not certain on that though. Maybe someone will let me know if that is correct.

But while she is "homeless" in the nice comfortable hotel she wouldn't be paying any of those.......... so in effect she can add that to her disposable income while she chooses to remain there.....hmmmm

lawlolawl

BaaLamb wrote: »

I've lost my job recently and I've been told I don't qualify for JSB and probably won't qualify for JSA either. I'm not having much luck finding work and I don't think anyone is going to pay my mortgage for me.

Your mistake was having a job in the first place.

BaaLamb

Tasden wrote: »

In fairneas I doubt it comes close to what other parents are paying in mortgage/rent and childcare fees. On top of everything else you mention there.

I know but I'm trying to be fair and point out that she will have some costs that will eat into that amount.

BaaLamb

lawlolawl wrote: »

Your mistake was having a job in the first place.

Yeah. My biggest mistake was being self-employed in the qualifying year for JSB. Apparently I'll be alright next January, so says woman at Intreo.

Donald Trump

BaaLamb wrote: »

Does she not have to pay some rent to the council while at hotel?

I assume the figure you've calculated above is before she buys food, fuel for her car etc. etc.

In fairness, she can fuck off with her car if she can't afford it.

I say that as someone who is older than her and who has never owned a car. I don't have one right now. And before anyone assumes, I don't have access to one either through parents or partner etc. I have a licence and can drive.

What else do you want to add to her list of necessities? A weekly Friday night bottle of Dom Perignon to wash down the truffles?

Stheno

BaaLamb wrote: »

Does she not have to pay some rent to the council while at hotel?

I assume the figure you've calculated above is before she buys food, fuel for her car etc. etc.

I think at most she would pay 30 euro per week as per rent allowance?

Yes that figure is before food, fuel etc, but net of accomodation/ultilies apart from the 120/140 per month she may be paying as 30 per week. And she gets breakfast in the hotel.

How many people on here could say that after rent/utilities, that they have over 1700 euro disposable income per month?

BaaLamb wrote: »

Yeah. My biggest mistake was being self-employed in the qualifying year for JSB. Apparently I'll be alright next January, so says woman at Intreo.

BaaLamb

Donald Trump wrote: »

In fairness, she can fuck off with her car if she can't afford it.

I say that as someone who is older than her and who has never owned a car. I don't have one right now. And before anyone assumes, I don't have access to one either through parents or partner etc. I have a licence and can drive.

What else do you want to add to her list of necessities? A weekly Friday night bottle of Dom Perignon to wash down the truffles?

LMAO fair enough, I was only trying to point out the potential costs she may have.

SEPT 23 1989

BaaLamb wrote: »

Yeah. My biggest mistake was being self-employed in the qualifying year for JSB. Apparently I'll be alright next January, so says woman at Intreo.

Self employment is the biggest mistake of all in the system if luck goes against you

Looking at the figures quoted in the thread why would you bother breaking your neck going it alone

You would be better off doing nothing

That's the fcuked up system

Smondie

Donald Trump wrote: »

In fairness, she can fuck off with her car if she can't afford it.

I say that as someone who is older than her and who has never owned a car. I don't have one right now. And before anyone assumes, I don't have access to one either through parents or partner etc. I have a licence and can drive.

What else do you want to add to her list of necessities? A weekly Friday night bottle of Dom Perignon to wash down the truffles?

agreed!

If she lives in a hotel in dublin city I am baffled by the need for her to have a car?

Tax, insurance, nct, repairs, fuel and parking would save her a good few bob.

BaaLamb

SEPT 23 1989 wrote: »

Self employment is the biggest mistake of all in the system if luck goes against you

Looking at the figures quoted in the thread why would you bother breaking your neck going it alone

You would be better off doing nothing

That's the fcuked up system

Yep. I was employed for the latter part of the qualifying year but that wasn't enough stamps. I was employed for the following two years until I was made redundant recently. Unfortunately for me those stamps won't count until 2017.

To be fair I don't begrudge Ms Fleming state assistance if she needs it and is working with the system but her shenanigans are well out of order and just put pressure on an already overburdened system.

The Truth Man

I won't tire in saying that this woman having her BTEA allowance refused last week was front page and headline news on RTE, Newstalk, Journal, Irish Times etc even though it was correctly refused and was a publicity stunt. Now the real story has come to light, and they refuse to report it. And people wonder why the Media aren't taken at face value anymore. Just blatant dishonesty.

One of our weak willed Politicians should surely come out and condemn this fiasco, and put Sinn Fein and co back into their box over this. I can't believe Sinn Fein had this women speaking on the Homeless Crisis in the European Parliment without letting slip this vital info she turned down housing in Clontarf.

There has been untold damage done to the Charity and Homeless sectors this year with all these scandals. Will be very hard to get donations and help for genuine people in the future because of all the scams unfolding.

Stheno

BaaLamb wrote: »

Yep. I was employed for the latter part of the qualifying year but that wasn't enough stamps. I was employed for the following two years until I was made redundant recently. Unfortunately for me those stamps won't count until 2017.

It's one of the big risks of being self employed

anewme

lawlolawl wrote: »

The system is really fair and doesn't reward poor decision making at all. I'm so glad that a huge chunk of my wages per week in tax can go to this delightful woman and her destined-to-be-useless kids.

Ah that's not fair. The Mother can fight her own battles and made her own choices but there's no need to say that about a little girl.

She's just a little child living in a Hotel because of her Mother's choices.

She can't defend herself and does not deserve that comment.

I understand people are annoyed but that's a step too far.

She's 9 years of age for Gods sake.

WHIP IT!

This whole thing is gonna kill me poor Auntie Kay... she never misses an opportunity to work into a conversation the fact she lives in Clontarf.... and then this wagon thumbs her nose at a free apartment in the place! Oh, the shame, Kay, the shame!

Gatling

Stheno wrote: »

I think at most she would pay 30 euro per week as per rent allowance?

The 4 families I currently know living in hotels don't pay anything towards the hotel and that includes breakfast ,and a meal for the kids and a lunch when the kids are in school ,

As it stands now your asked to find your own hotel and the council pays the bill ,

I've yet to hear of anyone paying towards hotels or B&Bs .

It's not like rent allowance or council differentiated rents

BaaLamb

anewme wrote: »

Ah that's not fair. The Mother can fight her own battles and made her own choices but there's no need to say that about a little girl.

She's just a little child living in a Hotel because of her Mother's choices.

She can't defend herself and does not deserve that comment.

I understand people are annoyed but that's a step too far.

She's 9 years of age for Gods sake.

Sorry I didn't read the post properly and missed that bit of the comment. I agree that the child is innocent in all this and shouldn't be brought into this.

Greenmachine

Put her in a glass box to live in. So we will all point at her for the eejit that she is.

BaaLamb

Gatling wrote: »

The 4 families I currently know living in hotels don't pay anything towards the hotel and that includes breakfast ,and a meal for the kids and a lunch when the kids are in school ,

As it stands now your asked to find your own hotel and the council pays the bill ,

I've yet to hear of anyone paying towards hotels or B&Bs .

It's not like rent allowance or council differentiated rents

How did those 4 families end up there? Was it because of rent hikes they were unable to cope with? How long have they been in hotels now?

lawlolawl

anewme wrote: »

Ah that's not fair. The Mother can fight her own battles and made her own choices but there's no need to say that about a little girl.

She's just a little child living in a Hotel because of her Mother's choices.

She can't defend herself and does not deserve that comment.

I understand people are annoyed but that's a step too far.

She's 9 years of age for Gods sake.

Won't somebody think of the children?

Offer these types a free spaying/neutering. It would help society at large.

SEPT 23 1989

Stheno wrote: »

It's one of the big risks of being self employed

There should be no risk welfare wise

after generating tens of thousands if not hundreds of thousands in revenue for the state

188 a week should be automatic not such a costly spiders web of paperwork and stasi like investigations

most ex self employed don't even bother trying

It's very very wrong how they are treated in this state

anewme

lawlolawl wrote: »

Won't somebody think of the children?

Offer these types a free spaying/neutering. It would help society at large.

You are a big man to make these comments about a 9 year old girl.

The Truth Man

In fairness she has put her own Political ambitions ahead of her childs future, forgoing housing in Clontarf to remain a Celebrity Homeless activist. Now people were saying about Social Services becoming involved earlier, I'm not sure if that is necessary or what the procedure is there.

But she wont win Mother of the Year anytime soon. She has used her child for career advancement and turned down suitable accommodation for the child to continue her campaign. It doesn't surprise me people resenting her for this. I believe something was also said earlier here about her receiving maintenance and being in a Long Term relationship with another man, but continuing to push Single Mother angle for her Political career and extra Housing/Welfare benefits. I think most people aware of the Welfare system know that is not uncommon that Single Mothers aren't actually Single.

But I think discounting all this I think it is her sheer brass neck and sense of entitlement that has pushed people to the limit here.

Gatling

BaaLamb wrote: »

How did those 4 families end up there? Was it because of rent hikes they were unable to cope with? How long have they been in hotels now?

3 are coming up their 2nd year in hotels one is just over 12 months ,
One is due to rent hikes the others due to not paying rent ie not paying landlords while in rent supplement ,
For the 4 families they eat with family members living near by when the kids are back in school we make sure they are given extra fruit and snacks to take home ,
We also organise breakfasts through the parents groups .
The odd thing here in tallaght is the sudden appearance of several soup kitchens to feed people including people living in hotels

Jawgap

lawlolawl wrote: »

Won't somebody think of the children?

Offer these types a free spaying/neutering. It would help society at large.

Seriously? That's a mother and daughter you're talking about. I understand people being provocative and while I'd seriously question this woman's choices about her housing, I don't doubt for one minute that she's absolutely devoted to her kid and trying to do her best by her.

It's possible to accept that she is a devoted mother, but a poor social campaigner.