WITH 4,203 people currently on the housing list in Limerick city and county, working families are now more at risk of becoming homeless.
The number of people looking for local authority housing in the metropolitan area is 3,336 compared to 2,208 on the old city council housing list back in March of this year.
Novas Initiatives, the largest provider of homeless services in the Mid-West region, has also revealed that the number of people, particularly families, availing of its services has increased. The Limerick-based charity says that many of these families had never previously accessed such support services but are finding it difficult to secure appropriate accommodation in the private rented market or are struggling to meet mortgage repayments.
“In the last two years, referrals to our Intensive Family Support (IFS) service have risen by 236 per cent, with a waiting list of families every month. In August, the IFS worked with 86 children, some of whom were already homeless but the majority at risk of becoming so,” said Limerick head of homeless services at Novas Initiatives, Anne Cronin.
“The problem is becoming increasingly grave as the pool of private rented and social housing continues to diminish at a time when the number of families in need of assistance is growing,” she added.
According to Sinn Féin councillor Maurice Quinlivan, the amount of people who are working and unable to purchase or rent privately is becoming more apparent than ever. He believes that there is virtually no chance of any of them getting housed without government intervention.
“A significant number of these hard working people are being refused their application to join the list as they are deemed to be adequately housed. Many families are also unable to continue their mortgages repayments and are now looking for assistance to get housed,” he explained.
He went on to cite cuts to the capital budget for housing, a virtual halt in the construction of Council housing stock as well as the demolition of regeneration houses without new ones being built to replace them, as catalysts for the current situation.
He believes that a long term plan to fund the consistent renewal of social housing as a well as a Government commitment to release investment funds for local authority housing is urgently needed.
“This is the only way to tackle housing need, homelessness, and extortionate rents. This will also create employment,” he concluded.
