This article is from page 54 of the 2010-01-26 edition of The Clare People. OCR mistakes are to be expected so download the original SWF or the rendered page 54 JPG
ENNIS Town Council does not ex- pect to start or complete any social houses this year – despite the fact that numbers on the housing list have in- creased by 35 per cent over the past year.
Figures supplied by the council show that numbers on the housing list increased by 235 from 671 to 906 between December 2008 and De- cember 2009.
The council completed 62 social houses in 2008 but no homes were completed last year and the indica- tions are that none will be completed over the next 12 months.
The council also confirmed that it has had six affordable houses on the market since 2008 and they remain unsold in spite of the cost being cut from €175,000 to €150,000.
Mayor of Ennis, Cllr Frankie Ney- lon (Ind) said yesterday that he does not expect any new social homes to be completed in Ennis over the next five to Six years.
“There is a lack of activity because the council does not have the money from Government to buy new land or start new schemes. That is not hap- pening and won’t happen for another couple of years and by the time the council does acquire land for hous- ing, it will be five or six years before a new social house 1s built.”
Clir Neylon also called for special EU funding to meet the housing re- quirements of the non Irish nationals
on the list and pointed that there are over 300,000 empty homes through- out the country with a sizeable number in Ennis.
Cllr Brian Meaney (Green) said that the National Assets Manage- ment Agency (NAMA) could provide a substantial part of the solution by allowing developers’ unsold houses be used to address the lengthening housing list numbers.
“There are a lot of empty houses
out there, but the Government should be prudent in not bailing out devel- opers.”’
Stating that there was “a dire need for housing in Ennis’, he added that the numbers on the housing list did not represent the true housing need as people seeking rent allowance must first be on the housing list.