Clare County Council’s decision to increase its social housing stock has been applauded by Independent TD Michael Harty who maintains it is necessary and comes at a vital time.
Last week it was announced that the local authority were inviting tenders for the supply of completed housing schemes fit for social housing, land banks and development sites where the need exists in towns and villages across the County.
In a statement to The Clare Herald, Harty said. “As a member of the Dáil Housing and Homelessness Committee, I have observed at first hand the drastic results of failing to provide social housing. While it is true that Clare has a relatively low level of homelessness compared with Dublin and other areas of the county, we should not be complacent. A combination of existing social housing waiting lists, high rents, redundancies and home repossessions can so very easy tip families into homelessness”.
He added “Homelessness is a deeply unhealthy state. The challenge for this government is to provide a long term solution which provides safe, secure, appropriate housing accommodation, which is tailored to the individual homeless person needs, coupled with the additional essential medical, addiction and social supports to ensure that exiting homelessness is sustainable and for the long term”.
The sixty three year old is urging the local authority to properly tackle the social housing problem. “Clare Co Council, in its statement, doesn’t put figures on the number of schemes it hopes to acquire nor on the number of land banks and development sites under consideration. Nevertheless, I hope their intention is to make a meaningful contribution to alleviating the social housing problem. Otherwise, Dublin’s housing and social problems of today may be Clare’s tomorrow,” he concluded.