Call for councillors to be kept informed on housing decisions

Councillors in the Mullingar Kinnegad Municipal District have asked for clearer procedures to ensure they are notified of housing outcomes when making representations on behalf of constituents.

At the September district meeting, Cllr Alfie Devine tabled a motion seeking that councillors be informed of decisions on social housing or HAP (Housing Assistance Payment) applications at the same time, or before, the applicant, once written consent has been given.

Explaining his reason, Cllr Devine recalled how he had worked “for six or eight months” to secure housing for an elderly constituent, only to learn after her death that she had been allocated a house three weeks earlier. “I was never notified,” he said. “If we’re making representations, whether the outcome is positive or negative, we should be told. It avoids embarrassing situations like that. We do a lot of work for them and with them, so I think it’s only fair.”

His proposal won support from several councillors, including Cllr Ken Glynn, chair of the Housing Strategic Policy Committee (SPC), who described the official response to Devine’s motion as “infuriating”.

The housing section’s reply had stated that all correspondence must issue directly to applicants, but that councillors could also be notified if written consent was provided by the applicant. Cllr Glynn disputed that interpretation, saying the matter had already been agreed at SPC level. “This is the rubbish that we hear from housing bodies,” he said. “We were told the written consent requirement would not be part of the process. If I make a representation about a footpath, nobody asks me for written consent. We’re elected to make representations for people.”

He argued that councillors had been promised written communication in cases where applicants were successful, but that was not consistently happening.

Director of services Deirdre Reilly said the written consent referred specifically to being notified of outcomes, not to the ability to make representations. “I think you’ve misinterpreted it,” she said, adding that she would review the matter if it conflicted with SPC agreements.

Cllr Mick Dollard said that under existing arrangements agreed by the SPC, councillors who had letters on file were to be notified when a housing allocation was made. “That reply here is incorrect,” he said. “It’s at variance with what was agreed at SPC level. The SPC is there to set policy, and that’s the arrangement that was made.”

Ms Reilly acknowledged there “might be some ambiguity” and will revisit the issue.