HUNDREDS of people who think they are on Limerick’s local authority waiting list may not be on it at all.
Members of Limerick City and County Council’s housing committee were told this week that new regulations require the council to write to people on the housing list each year to check that they are still in need of housing.
Senior executive housing officer, Patricia Liddy, told last Monday’s committee meeting that despite writing three times to people who didn’t reply the first time, 20 per cent of all letters were returned unopened to the council.
“Applications have closed but we will be flexible if people contact us. We will do our best but there has to be a cut-off point,” she said.
Cllr Joe Leddin (Lab) asked “is it worth having another round of engagement to ask people to get in contact to remind them to check that they are actually on the list?”
“We wrote three times, we advertised it in all the local media and our staff did interviews on radio. It’s up to the applicants to let us know if they change address or phone number. We’re not psychic,” he declared.
Cllr John Gilligan (Ind) said the new regulations “are something designed in Dublin by people with nothing better to do.
“I know from long experience there are letters going out to people who are illiterate. You get people who say they are on the waiting list for six or seven years and now they’re being asked to apply again. They don’t think they need to,” he explained.
Meanwhile, committee members were told that there hasn’t been a rent review since 2011 and a look at streamlining the rent arrangements in the county and city was overdue now that the former two local authorities are one.
