Councillors back plan for 1,500 new social housing units in Fingal
Fingal councillors have agreed on a report that aims to build over 1,500 social housing units in the county over this year and the next.
The Draft Housing Action Plan was presented at Fingal City Council recently. Each local authority will work with the Dublin Region Homeless Executive (DRHE) to prepare an action plan to address homelessness in their areas.
Councillors agreed on the plan, put together by the council’s housing team, but not before voicing some concerns of their own.
“It’s hard to pat ourselves on the back when the number of homeless people are still on the rise,” Swords councillor John Smyth said.
“This is simply putting fingers in the crack of a leak. I’ve worked with housing bodies before but nothing could have prepared me for the number of cases I’ve seen as a councillor.
“Those numbers feel meaningless now, it’s disgusting, it’s disgraceful. There are people of Fingal just a stone’s throw away from where we sit, thinking they have failed as parents because they have nowhere to live.”
Housing Support Officer, Liam Burke, who presented the report, outlined that it would focus on preventing homelessness and the duration of how long people would remain without accommodation.
The plan was approved earlier by a Housing Strategic Policy Committee (SPC).
Rush-Lusk councillor, Paul Mullville, was among a group of councillors who demanded that families in the area would need to be housed close to where they are from.
“Families in Fingal need to be placed near where they are based – we need to commit and invest in them and ensure that the homeless team is well resourced enough to do that,” he said.
Balbriggan councillor Malachy Quinn spoke about what he learned from his own area.
“Emergency accommodation is very scarce on the ground in Balbriggan and this side of the county,” he said.
“Families from here are going into accommodation in the city centre. Their children are attending schools, some doing their leaving certs far away from where they grew up.”
Councillors also discussed the unique problems affecting single parents, people with disabilities and older people in emergency accommodation.
Blanchardstown-Mulhuddart councillor, John Burtchaell, commended the housing team for the report, but asked for more protection to be put in place for tenants.
“The registration of landlords with the Residential Tenancies Board (RTB) is not checked, there have been several cases where people have received a notification of termination, only to find that their property was never registered,” he said.
“The fact that we need a plan at all is an admission that the government’s plan is not going to work – we’re going to see increased homelessness, increased rents and increased house prices.”
Howth–Malahide councillor, Cathal Haughey, said he'd heard from constituents who preferred to sleep on the streets over availing emergency accommodation.
“People have been attacked, there are drugs around – people should feel safe in these places. We need to ask ourselves why people prefer rough sleeping over the accommodation we provide," he said.