WITH homeless shelters full and people sleeping on the streets, the Government’s ‘Housing for All’ strategy is not working in Limerick.
That’s the view of local Sinn Féin TD Maurice Quinlivan, who says that the plan is not delivering and has resulted in missed targets and more people struggling.
“Since the current Housing Minister took office, house prices have increased by 20 per cent, rents have increased by 15 per cent and over the last year homelessness figures increased by 30 per cent,” Deputy Quinlivan explained.
“Last August, there were10,805 people were in emergency accommodation across the State with a further 500,000 adults living with their parents.
“In Limerick, homeless shelters are full. There are waiting lists to access what should be emergency accommodation. There are people sleeping on the streets of Limerick, a far cry from ‘Housing for All’.
“At the end of last month, there were 549 people, including 158 children, in emergency accommodation across the Mid-West region,” he added.
“Targets for new affordable homes are falling short. By the end of June, only 20 per cent of the targeted 9,000 new build social homes were delivered. We are facing a third year in a row when new build targets will be missed.”
“The Housing for All plan envisaged the delivery of 33,000 homes per year yet the construction industry anticipates that only 26,000 will be delivered this year.”
Deputy Quinlivan called on the Minister to take some immediate steps to address the crisis of housing.
“The government must ensure that boarded up council homes are given to families. They must release the funding, cut the bureaucracy and get void units opened and allocated to families as a matter of urgently.
“Limerick City and County Council needs resources for an Affordable Housing team. This is crucial for Limerick as we are behind where we should be with affordable housing plans,” he concluded.
