LIMERICK City and County Council came under fire this week for having built just ten new houses this year.
Members of the local authority’s special policy committee were being given an update on the work being done under the Regeneration scheme and were told that up to the end of the third quarter of this year, 52 houses which were empty have been refurbished for families to live in and are now occupied.
But Anti Austerity Alliance councillor, Cian Prendeville took issue with the number of new houses which have been built this year to date.
He said it is “insufficient, in the midst of a housing crisis, that just ten new houses were built in Limerick this year.
Cllr Prendeville claimed that “the housing shortage could be solved nationally with a stroke of the Ministers’ pen.
“All he has to do is sign on the bottom line to allow local authorities borrow money to build houses, That would solve the problem by 2018”, he said.
The meeting heard that 140 homes have had thermal upgrades and 196 refurbishment schemes, including thermal upgrades, have been completed since the start of the year.
A further 350 homes are currently at the planning stage for being made more energy efficient.
Cllr Joe Leddin (Lab) asked what could be done to force private landlords to open boarded-up property for letting.
“We need to compel these absentee landlords to do something with their house,” he said.
Council officials told him that the local authority can only act if a property is listed as ‘derelict’ as an empty house can remain empty for any period, provided it is not causing a problem.
