Tipperary councillors call for special meeting on housing crisis

Cathaoirleach and councillor Declan Burgess and Cllr Seamus Morris have called on Tipperary County Council to hold a special meeting on housing.

Cllr Burgess made his call first and said the meeting was necessary to examine affordable housing options in the county. 

“I am acutely aware of the fact that the squeezed middle is the category not being discussed in housing,” said Cllr Burgess.

However, Cllr Morris said the meeting should not be limited to affordable housing as there are many other issues to be discussed. 

He said Notices to Quit were “going through the roof,” housing programmes were announced with no start and end dates and stalled by Uisce Éireann, who he called the “elephant in the room.”

Cllr Morris said he was approached by a couple who have been issued with a Notice to Quit and will have to leave their home shortly.

They have saved the money for a deposit but cannot find a house to buy in their price range. 

“They will be homeless despite having €260,000 in their back pocket,” said Cllr Morris.

Cllr Máirín Mcgrath supported Cllr Morris’s call for a special meeting. 

She said staff at the council do their best, but they and the councillors are under “huge pressure.”

Cllr Mary Hanna Hourigan said she was told there was no more money at the council for acquisitions.

The council had been allowed to purchase homes where people had been given a Notice to Quit so the tenant could stay in situ.

As of summer 2022, The Department of Housing had allowed Local Authorities to assess the house and buy it if it was value for money. 

Cllr Hourigan said people losing their homes is the biggest issue facing the local authority and constitutes a health problem. 

Cllr David Dunne called housing “the issue of our time.”

Cllr Liam Browne cited issues in the private sector like prices as the cause of the crisis. 

“If we have to give €100,000 to someone to buy a house, we have a big problem,” said Cllr Browne. 

However, not everyone saw the private sector as the problem.

Cllr John Fitzgerald agreed with Cllr Dunne but said: “spare a thought for the landlord too.”

He said the RTB “wasn’t working” and as a result, landlords “were voting with their feet.”

THREE KEY ISSUES 

Tipperary County Council Chief Executive Sinead Carr said that they could have a special meeting but would suggest limiting the number of discussion items. 

She acknowledged the councillor’s points but said limiting the discussion to three key issues would mean less talk and more action. 

She also suggested asking a developer representative to present the issues they face to the council at the proposed meeting.

UP WITH THE BEST

New housing director Johnathon Cooney said the council had not been told to stop buying houses. 

But, they were asked to look at other options for the household first. Mr Cooney said they had acquired 36 properties this year, which was similar to last year.

He also said that the council had brought the vacancy rate down from 4.5% in 2019-2020 to 1.8%, which was the case for the past 12 months. 

“Tipperary is up there with the best of them,” said Mr Cooney.

He said 72 Notices to Quit had been reported so far this year compared to 47 in the same period last year.