30 out of 35 homes are lying vacant in Mayo housing estate
Cllr Richard Finn said he had repeatedly raised the matter.
Mayo County Council is preparing to take over 35 housing units at Churchfield Lawns, Knock, as part of its housing delivery programme.
The council's Director of Services for Housing, Tom Gilligan, told last week's meeting of Claremorris-Swinford Municipal District that the council had stepped in after the approved housing body, which has been in charge of the estate, was unable to progress the project.
The news was welcomed by Independent Cllr Richard Finn who said he had been "blue in the face talking to the council" about this issue.
“It is a downright disgrace that you can go into an estate in this day and age with 35 houses and just a few tenants in it."
Cllr Patsy O’Brien said he would love to know why "30 of 35 houses were left vacant” and called for an immediate meeting with representatives of the approved housing body in question.
Cllr Alma Gallagher said she supported the plan because the vacant houses were an “absolute disgrace in this day and age". She said approved housing bodies constitute “one of the most regulated sectors in the country” but condemned the high vacancy rate in this instance, noting that the estate offered a “unique opportunity for an age-friendly village and also housing for people with mental and additional health needs".
Cllr Deirdre Lawless pointed out there was also a community centre in the housing estate, which would be ideal for older people.
“It would be a great asset to Knock and the village so I encourage the housing officer and the council to get that housing estate up and running again. It is a real shame to see it lying idle. I ask also that they would be people suitable for Knock, who have its best interests at heart; the type of people who would have that love for the village. That community centre should be used again, they used to have bingo there, and there is also a caretaker’s house, for those people to be cared for on a daily basis.”
Cllr John Caulfield said the houses in question were sound structures that simply needed updating and he wanted to see an urgency around this scheme. He pointed out the houses were “95% paid for by the taxpayer” and said he had no preference as to who goes into them as there are “enough of people out there needing housing".
Cllr Gerry Murray agreed that the project should be fast tracked.
“I don’t know why it is taking so long. It looks straightforward for the State to take it over and finish off the houses and move people in.”
Cllr Neil Cruise said it was “absolutely galling" that these homes were lying idle in the middle of a housing crisis He added that the Government’s Housing for All plan had people “mired in paperwork”, income limits were “completely out of date” and there is a "cohort of young people who will never get on the property ladder".
Mr Gilligan told members that the council is working with the housing body in question.
"The focus is on now and the future and not on the past and on getting a resolution to bring these properties back into use”.
He defended the council’s performance on housing, saying MCC has one of the best records in the country on being proactive on vacant and derelict housing, including the conversion of 18 pubs into residential housing, while it was also the first local authority to appoint a dedicated Vacant Homes Officer and a Derelict Sites Officer, with the latter overseeing 224 sites brought back into use over the last decade.
He continued: “So I am not going to be critical of our approved housing bodies which are doing very critical work in difficult circumstances. However, I am critical of the larger ones, which have only a national focus and are very slow to cross the Shannon into the West – and that has to stop. We need their support and their activity on the ground if we are to meet our Housing for All targets and provide more social and affordable housing – because the council itself is delivering on its targets, but the large approved housing bodies are not delivering in Mayo.”
