Longford councillor slams social housing income omission as 'a pure joke'
A decision to exclude Longford from a review in social housing income thresholds has been branded a “pure joke”.
Fine Gael Councillor Paul Ross launched a stinging rebuke of a move which could see scores of families sidelined in their desires to avail of social housing supports.
Counties Clare, Carlow, Laois, Galway and Westmeath, as revealed by the Leader just over two weeks ago, are to see income eligibility income limits rise from €25,000 to €30,000.
The announcement, which was disclosed by Cllr Peggy Nolan at a recent Longford Municipal District meeting, came in for sustained criticism from local politicians at last week's monthly council meeting.
“It's a pure joke,” said Cllr Ross.
“It's totally biased in terms of our constituency.”
Cllr Ross said the move made little sense at a time when Longford's housing crisis ha shown little evidence of abating with rents at an all time high.
Independent Cllr Gerry Warnock followed suit and called for government bosses to enact a u-turn on the move.
“It's really nothing short of a disgrace,” he added.