LIMERICK city and county Council has been asked to supply councillors in the Metropolitan area with a list of vacant or boarded up houses, and their estimated time of completion.
According to City East comhairleoir Séighin Ó Ceallaigh, local people in are crying out for houses, with many families going homeless in the city.
The Sinn Fein local representative said that people need to be re-assured there is a plan in place to ensure that houses are provided as soon as possible. The most efficient way of doing this, he believes, is by allocating vacant houses to those on the social housing list.
“Houses can remain vacant or boarded up for months throughout the city, and this at a time when there are many people living with relatives or in emergency accommodation. This is an issue of urgent importance and needs to be addressed and resolved immediately,” said Cmhlr Ó Ceallaigh.
“Boarding up houses can lead to a much larger renovation cost and an increase in anti-social behaviour in the area. Often items are stolen including pipes and heating systems.
“When a house is boarded up, quite often it is broken into ransacked, and the damage then has to be repaired before the house is allocated,” he claimed.
