PayPal boss calls on Dundalk staff to rent rooms to new employees

Louise Phelan of PayPal

PayPal Ireland boss Louise Phelan has revealed that the multinational is asking its staff to offer rooms to new employees who cannot find rental accommodation here.

While rental problems in Dublin are well known, good quality accommodation is also increasingly hard to come by in Dundalk, where PayPal employ over 1,000 staff.

Between their site in the Xerox Technology Park and another in Ballycoolin in Dublin, PayPal currently employs around 2,400 staff in Ireland but Phelan told the Construction Industry Federation conference yesterday that the country risks losing out on further foreign direct investment if staff cannot be accommodated.

PayPal revealed that the problem is so bad that they are forking out as much as €2,000 extra for new employees coming to Ireland in order to pay for a hotel when they arrive.

PayPal in Dundalk hires over 1,000 staff

Phelan admitted that “our greatest challenge today is rental property.”

She said: “Property prices are a consistent problem for my teammates trying to find somewhere to live.

“In terms of housing, I’m asking all teammates in Ballycoolin in Dublin and Dundalk to see will they rent rooms for teammates that I am bringing in from 26 countries because they can’t get accommodation.”

Ms Phelan warned that future foreign direct investment would be put in doubt if the problem continued.

“It costs about €1,500 to hire an invividual but today it’s costing me about €3,500 upfront to find a hotel for at least two to three weeks. It’s crisis time for us and for brining in foreign direct investment overall.

“The reality is that the IDA do an amazing job, but if you don’t have the after-care service for people, FDI won’t invest in you.

“It used to be about how many people I can hire. Now it’s about how many people I can hire and get schools for their families and get into a home.”

Ms Phelan said it was important that banks were lending to those interested in buying.

“First of all, I would say that the banks need to start lending again to people who can afford a mortgage and are being turned down and to developers who want to create the homes and commercial premises.

“But there is no point in the construction industry producing commercial property unless you’re going to match it with residential property to support it. We need to improve quality of life for people, for example to make more schools available,” she said.

70 homeowners in Dundalk risk losing their homes today

70 homeowners in Dundalk are at risk of losing their homes today.

Ross Maguire of New Beginning has revealed that the debt resolution group are presenting 70 people from the town in home repossession cases today.

The cases will go before the courts, who may well grant banks the opportunity to evict people from their homes, thus allowing them to repossess the properties.

As well as the 70 repossession cases from Dundalk, New Beginning will also be representing homeowners in Cork (49), Roscommon (83), Waterford (45) and Tullamore (65).

Banks actively seeking to repossess 249 homes in Co Louth

Banks are actively seeking to repossess 249 homes in Co Louth, according to new figures from the Courts Service, published in today’s Irish Times.

As of January 1^st, 290 civil bills had been lodged in the last year with 41 repossession orders granted by the court.

This means that 41 homes have been taken off people in the county in the last year, with far more under threat going by the number set to come before the courts in the coming weeks and months.

In total there are more than 7,000 cases in the pipeline around Ireland with 1,063 orders granted last year.

Figures published last week by the Central Bank show there were 110,336 residential mortgage accounts in arrears at the end of 2014.

Dundalk teacher Howard puts together moving documentary on Ireland’s Housing Crisis

O Fiaich College media teacher Marcus Howard has put together a new documentary on Ireland’s Housing Crisis.

Marcus Howard

The 22-minute piece focuses the problem the country is facing at present and has so far been well received both at home and abroad with The Journal and Australian-based website Irish Around Oz amongst those who have picked up on the video.

The documentary is set in Navan, where local election candidate Alan Lawes spoke to four women who are either facing eviction or who are already living homeless.

They share their experiences dealing with the banks and the local authorities and their frustrations with the systems for homeless and housing lists and the social welfare system.

Their stories are just a few examples of how the economic crash impacted on the living situations on people all across the country.  Marcus interviewed the women in the video and also directed and edited the documentary, which was recorded earlier this month on February 8^th.

You can view the video above.

 

You can bank on long queues in Dundalk

 

Fiona McLaughlin has reported that an old man has just collapsed while waiting in a queue at the AIB branch in Dundalk.

Apparently the problem was exasperated by the failure of staff to open another window.

Admittedly, queues in local banks can be tedious with the pillar banks AIB and Bank of Ireland amongst the worst offenders. Indeed, it’s often easier to buy cakes, buns or even furniture in some of the banks rather than get at your hard earned cash.

Still, at least you’re being charged for the pleasure of it… with both banks having recently announced increased charges for customers.

Here’s hoping the old man is all right. For the rest of us the wait for decent customer service goes on…

Source: Fiona McLaughlin (Twitter)