Numbers waiting for city social housing doubles in three years

Date Published: 12-Sep-2011

BY MARK O’REGAN

Over the past three years the number of people on the waiting list for social housing in Galway has more than doubled from 2,000 to 4,115.

The massive leap is attributed to the downturn in the economy and an increase in the number of people who have fallen into arrears with their mortgage repayments.

“It’s a direct consequence of the economic situation. The vast majority of people waiting for accommodation are looking for one or two bed accommodation. They comprise of 84.4 per cent of applications. Currently, of the 4115 households on the list, 84 per cent of those are currently in receipt of rent supplement,” a spokesman from Galway City Council explained.

“Forty one per cent of the applicants have an income of less than €200 per week. Twenty eight per cent are living off between €200 and €300 a week. Fourteen per cent have a weekly income between €300 and €400 while the remaining seventeen per cent have an income of over €400.

" The people in the €400 bracket would possibly be people with larger families on various social protection payments.”

Housing Minister Willie Penrose says that plans to finish homes in ghost estates will be finalised by next January and that negotiations are taking place with NAMA and developers about the possibility of turning some idle homes into social housing.

Read more in today’s Connacht Sentinel