Council continue to review delivery of housing locally

Addressing the increasing demand for social housing in the county was raised at a recent meeting of Westmeath County Council.

Cllr Paul Hogan brought the matter to light when he first spoke about the Vacant Property Refurbishment Grant, asking: “The Croí Cónaithe Towns Fund scheme has been one of the most successful schemes that have been rolled out to date. The number of applications were 435, and 113 had funding issued, with another possibly 50 or 60 to come on stream later on this year.

“Do we have adequate resources in place in terms of an ever-rising scheme? I also note that there is an 11% rejection, or withdrawal rate, I presume this is about whether the property's been vacant for two years, and all of the bits and pieces that go with it.”

Cllr Hogan expressed concern at the ability to meet the demand for the scheme: “Have we had enough resources in place to ensure that people are being notified as quickly as possible, and to be able turn around the properties as quickly as possible.”

In a reply, the executive said they were “looking at reviewing” the scheme to match needs.

The independent councillor went on to raise concerns about the efficiency of some of the approved housing bodies working in the county.

The approved housing bodies (AHB) are independent, not-for-profit organisations providing affordable, rented social housing. They are designed to help individuals and families who cannot afford to buy their own homes or pay private sector rents

Cllr Hogan said: “Some approved housing bodies are doing well, others not so well. Can I ask for a review on the performance of approved housing bodies in terms of housing delivery?”

He expressed concern at the effectiveness of some tasked with addressing housing shortfalls: “I'm more than a little bit uncomfortable with some approved housing bodies receiving new contracts despite stating that we target houses in parts of the county. That is a huge concern that needs to be rectified.”

In her reply, Jackie Finney, director of services for Housing, said issues had been identified: “We're in contact with them all, there are a couple that we are having issues with in terms of their performance, but the AHBs play a big part in the overall delivery nationally. They obviously have access to department funding.

“Under the current national policy, there is a requirement for them to deliver. It will be all about delivering new houses and less about turnkey, that's the way things are going in terms of funding for them, so they're going to have to up their game in terms of actually delivering.”

Ms Finney said the local authority will continue to monitor the issue: “We will review here in Westmeath, we are in regular contact with them through both our quarterly meetings at a regional level.”