GOVERNMENT plans to provide 264 affordable homes in Limerick over the next five years have been described as a “pathetic effort”.
Responding to the latest ESRI housing report, Sinn Féin Senator Paul Gavan has called for an urgent need to invest in genuinely affordable housing for the people of Limerick.
“Government must accept that we need to see affordable housing delivered at scale across the country. This means at least 4,000 affordable homes a year from 2022 to 2026, as well as 4,000 cost rental homes per year,” he explained.
“Halfway through this year, it was revealed that just 33 per cent of the target of 2,100 affordable homes has been delivered, which is less than 700 cost rental and affordable purchase units.
“In Limerick, the government’s plan to provide just 264 affordable homes over the next five years is a pathetic effort.
“What’s worse is that an application for staffing resources from Limerick City and County Council took more than seven months to be approved. The council had sought ten additional staff to head up an affordable housing team, but only got approval for two.
“What the government says they are doing is very different to what they are actually doing.
“There is a whole generation of young people locked out of housing and a recent survey showed that over 70 per cent of young people are considering leaving this country.
“Despite the rhetoric from the government, the reality is that there is a legacy here from failed Fine Gael housing policies in the last decade and now Fianna Fail’s pro-developer and pro-investor housing plans are making things worse.
“The evidence has been laid bare by ESRI reports and the government can and should do more,” Senator Gavan concluded.
