County Council should ‘focus on delivering social housing’ in Longford, argues Browne
Longford has a “minimal” demand for property made available under the Affordable Housing Scheme and the County Council should “focus on delivering social housing” , one local elected representative has claimed.
Cllr John Browne (FG) pictured raised the issue at the April meeting of the local authority.
The last time the matter was brought to the attention of the council it provoked a lot of discussion: “The subject of affordable housing generated considerable debate here in this chamber. I would like to know the exact feedback to date?” Cllr Browne asked.
The Fine Gael representative's query related to a call for expressions of interest in the scheme issued by the local authority at the end of last year. In reply Council Chief Executive, Paddy Mahon, informed the councillor that there “were about 30 expressions of interest”.
“I'm not one bit surprised,” Cllr Browne replied, “We had a huge amount of debate about this. You would have thought there would be hundreds and hundreds applying for it. This is a reflection of reality.
“I think at this stage Longford County Council should get on with the job of delivering appropriate houses for Longford. The demand for affordable housing is greatly overstated. There's an insatiable appetite for social housing, but the demand for affordable housing is minimal,” he said.
Last year Longford was one of ten counties nationwide excluded from the Affordable Housing Scheme for 2023. However in December it was announced that the local authority would seek sound out demand for the scheme.
The Council invited members of the public to submit expressions of interest for the scheme.
Under the scheme, the local authority takes a €50k stake in the new house which would-be purchasers can redeem over time.
Since December around 30 expressions of interest have been made to the council.