Fianna Fáil Councillor Tells Lodger Not to Cook and to Wash Dishes in Bathroom

She has form.

Didn't the lodger name Deirdre Conroy?

Is it a prerequisite for FFG candidacy to have a neck like a jockey's whatsits, and an utter disregard for common decency?

She went on RTE Liveline this afternoon and Katie Hannon went through the story with the councillor.

First thing that sprung to my mind was the infamous Maria Bailey swing interview.

It wasn't the wisest move on the part of the councillor, as her story came across so full of holes, it was in tatters. Her defence was basically that she was a kind thoughtful soul who was just helping this young French intern. She tried to keep to this theme but Katie was having none of it and stuck to the issues as reported in the IT.

Listen back if you want to shake your head in incredulity.

If you want context you should listen to her on todays Liveline.

She acts like she was doing the girl a favour. Despite the 16 year old microwave that you have to hold the door while its on for it to work.

Over a grand a month in Clonskeagh for a licensee is extortion. Even more so, when the oven doesnt work.

Listened to the whole liveline chat with the councillor. It must be incredibly easy to get a Kings Inn Barrister qualification because despite having one, she couldn't put up even a basic coherent defence. The very idea she was on long zoom meetings as a councilor in an open space (the kitchen) and couldn't be disturbed as an excuse for not allowing someone cook is funny. Ah but she was out all the time. Of course she was, she had to find somewhere to eat. It wasn't 260 a month it was 35 a night and that's cheaper than anywhere else in town was her main defence. And right at the end try to get in a political broadcast for her qualifications as a councillor. People say she is great at getting back to them ! Neck like a jockeys bollocks.

She is no longer a practising barrister.

I believe it was two rooms. An ensuite double bedroom and also a converted attic as a lounge room.

Still very expensive.

She said on the liveline segment she is self employed.

This is very true, and vulture is a very good word. 260 a week? Would it have been much skin off the nose of ex-barrister, journalist and City Councillor if she had charged 130 instead? No. It was just greed. But in her messed up, ego tripping head, she thought she was doing the girl a favour.

Car crash interview in every respect.

Doing what I wonder?

What a sad world you must live in, if you genuinely believe the majority of irish people are looking to make a quick buck.

Does Micheal Martin have an opinion?

Nobody on this thread has suggested regulations for rent a room, or having a lodger. Probably because most people assume all thats needed is comon sense and common courtesy. Thats why what was said about Councillor Conroy was so shocking. Bringing in over 1K a month but unwilling to replace her 16 year old microwave and using the excuse that you dont use the microwave in the summer anyway 🙄.

I seen this story over the weekend.

We need regulation and enforced rules of every section of the housing market, with hefty penalties for people who break the rules/regs

The gas thing is the government could solve the housing crisis in a couple of months if it wanted to. Most TD's are LL's or get a lot of votes from LL's and it just doesn't suit them to fix

My rules would be (For Dublin):

• A max rental price per sq ft per area in a radial fashion from DCC, (the further out you go the cheaper it gets)
• Minimum size apartments per person
• Individuals and Married couples may only have two properties in rent pressure zone, you can have more if you set up a Ltd company and transfer the properties to the company.
• You cannot rent something that has an outstanding mortgage on it or a property use as a guarantee against a mortgage on another property.
• If renting a room: No 5 night leases (IE No "cant be there on the weekend")
• if renting a room: full use of facilities where there is only 1 such facility (IE if there is only one kitchen then everyone in the house has use of that kitchen)
• Communal renting forbidden
• Legal requirement to be on the RTB if renting a room or a property (Doesn't matter if it's you friend or brother that you're renting to)
• Empty property tax of some description starting off at €5,000 P/A

If the above were enforced, that force all the people "Investing" and sitting on properties to F**k off and invest in something else. Profits by rental companies (companies that are actually delivering something) would be moderate. Rents would come down and there would plenty of houses for sale.

Again, the government can solve this issue easily. At last count there were 37,000 empty properties in Dublin alone, and nearly 170k across the country. They just don't want to as they'd step on to many toes.

If the system was set up fairly, there would be no need for communal renting.

And here in lies the dilemma... I do not know how to fix that.

Many commodities are regulated in Ireland. the amount of fish you can catch, the size of herds, the amount of grain produced, the fossil fuels we're allowed to use (Only E10 now), the amount of trees you can cut down, permitted medication, permitted science, etc. Why should housing be any different?

I'm not putting anyone out on the street here. Just invest in something else.

Point taken.

Perhaps some additional rules about Students and communal living, but now there's greyness...

Eh. I’ve done Irish student digs myself and regulation would have been welcome. They were ‘decent’ but also spent my rent money on beercans - while both adults were on the dole, and then they’d ask me to forward next months rent every couple weeks because they hadn’t kept money aside for their daughters lunches. ‘Decent’ yeah, I had the run of the kitchen and they made a good leg of lamb once in a while in the beginning that’s for sure. They started to get a bit cracked after 2 other renters left because one of the owners was breaking into the renters own liquor and refilling it with water.

more relevant here this lady lists back and forth in the interview and her blogs etc and past incidents from acting in all but name as a landlady but don’t call her a landlady. It just screams a knowing that regulation for her should be on the horizon either way.