Tipperary councillor welcomes plan for an affordable homes scheme in Nenagh

Councillor Seamus Morris has welcomed the announcement of an affordable housing scheme for Nenagh.

He said the plan is in the works, which is great news for young people in particular.

“After many years of working on getting an affordable housing scheme for Nenagh, I was delighted that the council stated that such a scheme was in the planning for Nenagh.

“Last year alone, Australia issued 21,000 new work visas for Irish applicants, and as I stated at the meeting, I worry about how our young highly educated people will put a roof over their heads.

“Successive government housing policies from Fianna Fail, Fine Gael, The Green Party and the Labour Party have failed, with the lack of housing being the number one issue in the upcoming local elections.

“Affordable housing schemes are heavily discounted housing schemes, which will be aimed at households using their combined deposit and the approved maximum mortgage but cannot afford the home at its open market value.

“In all my years as a councillor, I have never seen such desperation in delivering social housing for people who are within weeks of losing their housing due to the huge numbers of Notices To Quit issued last year in Tipperary and also the number of couples who are couch surfingsometimes in separate houses.

“That is despite the very best efforts of housing staff.

“I also proposed at the meeting that we should ask the department to bring in emergency legislation to deal with what is now a housing emergency, which would include scrapping the four-stage process for delivering new social housing schemes, which are taking up to two years to put a spade in the ground, using other options like modular housing and easing the local need planning condition which is stopping people in rural Tipperary housing themselves on family land.

“Such an emergency is in use to provide immediate protection in EU countries for people displaced by the Russian invasion of Ukraine and is a good template for providing housing in an emergency situation,” said Cllr Morris.