Review of Galway’s social housing demographics to take place for ‘clearer understanding’ of allocations
Galway County Council will be conducting a review of what demographics, like age and nationality, are represented on its social housing list.
During a recent meeting, Galway County Council directors said they would conduct a workshop for councillors to review detailed information about County Galway’s social housing list.
The workshop was preceded by a motion from Independent Councillor Martin McNamara.
He requested specific information from the past three years, including household size, household nationality, applicant age, and length of time applicants had spent on the waiting list.
He also sought the number of successful offers and refusals based on nationality, if available.
“The purpose of this request is to establish whether the council has sufficient data to assess waiting times, allocation outcomes and demographic changes within the social housing system, while ensuring that any information provided is aggregated and does not identify individual applicants,” Cllr McNamara’s motion stated.
During the meeting, Cllr McNamara said a database, if not already in place, is vital for the “operation and fairness of the social housing allocation system.”
“We can get a clearer understanding as to how social housing and services is monitored and recorded by Galway County Council.”
“This information will inform long term planning for services, facilities, and supports that will be required,” Cllr McNamara added. “As well as greater transparency.”
Director of Services Damien Mitchell said identifying this data will be a large undertaking for council staff. However, the data will be collected and presented to councillors when complete for a full review.