‘Look after locals’

Concern people being pushed out of home towns

Westmeath councillors have called for a review of social housing allocation criteria to give greater consideration to people who have lived in rural towns and villages for many years, amid concerns that local communities are struggling to retain their native residents.

Cllr Alfie Devine raised the issue at the October meeting of Mullingar Kinnegad Municipal District, proposing that applicants who had been reared in, or lived in, a community for more than 15 years should be given priority for housing there, provided they had spent at least a year on the housing waiting list.

Under his proposal, a local applicant who had been waiting for a shorter period could be prioritised over someone from outside the area who had selected the town or village as an area of choice.

The motion prompted a discussion about balancing the needs of established rural communities with the rights of people moving in to an area, and councillors agreed the proposal should be examined further.

In its written response, the council’s Housing Section said social housing was allocated in accordance with the Housing Allocation Scheme adopted by elected members on November 24, 2025.

The scheme allows applicants to select up to three areas of choice, which are not ranked in order of priority.

The criteria for a standard allocation include the applicant’s preference for the location, the suitability of the available property for the household’s needs and the length of time the household has qualified for social housing support.

Once applicants identify an area of choice and are next in line for an allocation, they must be considered for a suitable property in that location, subject to continuing to qualify following a housing needs assessment.

The council said standard allocations were predominantly based on length of time on the housing list.

Cllr Devine said the criteria needed closer examination, particularly where applicants changed their areas of choice as new housing developments were built.

He said he suspected some applicants were changing their preferences or refusing offers in the hope of securing a newly built house in another town or village.

He also pointed to 91 refusals of housing offers so far this year, saying the reasons for those need to be examined. “I think we need to really sit down and look at those and see why they were turned down,” he said.

Cllr Devine said people from towns and villages where little or no new housing was being built could be disadvantaged compared with applicants who had selected areas where new developments were under way.

He stressed that he was not proposing to exclude newcomers, but wanted the council to consider whether suitable housing was available in applicants’ home communities before allocating them properties elsewhere.

Cllr David Jones cautioned against creating the impression that newcomers were unwelcome, pointing out that people who moved into an area often made a significant contribution to the communities.

He said rural areas had frequently been overlooked in terms of housing provision, forcing people to broaden their areas of choice because they believed social housing would never become available locally.

He cited Delvin, where six houses had recently been built, but said that was insufficient to meet demand. Clonmellon had also seen private housing development, but had gone many years without social housing being built.

The mayor, Cllr Niall Gaffney, proposed referring the motion to the council’s Strategic Policy Committee (SPC) dealing with housing, where the existing allocation policy and the various considerations involved could be examined in detail.

Cllr Denis Leonard supported the general principle behind the motion, highlighting the difficulties facing communities such as Kinnegad.

He said no private house had been built there since 2007 and only a small number of social houses had been provided. As a result, people who attended local schools and played with local GAA clubs could be forced to leave the area to find accommodation.

Cllr Andrew Duncan also saw merit in the proposal, saying it was a genuine attempt to keep rural communities together rather than an effort to discriminate against newcomers.

He referred to communities such as Collinstown, which had struggled with a lack of housing and services, and where shops and pubs had closed over the years.

Cllr Ken Glynn said applicants were often encouraged to name three areas of choice, even though they could select just one.

He said that could lead to Mullingar-based applicants being offered housing in smaller towns where properties became available sooner.

He said the allocation policy could be reviewed at the discretion of elected members if the SPC considered changes necessary.

Cllr Julie McCourt also supported examining the issue through the SPC, noting that people moved between areas for a variety of reasons, including employment, family and education.