There is something 'badly wrong' - huge concerns over allocation of new housing in Nenagh

While housing is coming “on stream” in some parts of Tipperary, the monthly allocation of houses in Nenagh is “very few", it has been claimed.

The concerns were raised at a meeting of the October meeting of Nenagh Municipal District where the General Municipal Allocation (GMA) was a major point of discussion. 

The GMA is discretionary funding that is made available to members of the municipal district to allocate as part of the draft budget.

It is then decided by these members how the money should be spent. It is understood that there will be a workshop to look at the specific proposals for 2026 some time in the near future. 

Independent Councillor Seamus Morris told the meeting that there is something "badly wrong" with the allocation of money for housing in Nenagh. 

"I have two ladies waiting for doors, one waiting for four years, the other waiting for a number of years and other people waiting for repairs. These are repairs now that have been passed by the Council to be done and I'm told the budget isn't there. When I've questioned this, I've got to say that it's a very complicated thing."

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Cllr Morris sought an explanation on this budget, stating that he has been told wages have to be paid out of such. 

“When we get a budget in front of us, we kind of half think that the money's for the houses but it doesn't seem to be. It seems to be for staff.” 

He said there needs to be discussion and a further breakdown on the housing budget as he "can't stand in front of people and say to them ‘Sorry, I haven’t the money this year." 

Cllr Morris has deemed these actions, or lack thereof, as "not good enough."

The Labour Party’s Fiona Bonfield supported this call, saying she too has received multiple complaints from people. 

She believes the Nenagh Municipal District is "not getting done what we should be getting done" adding:  “I think we really need to look at the cost of all this.”

Speaking further was Independent Councillor Pamela Quirke O’Meara, who said that these renters, who are on the maximum end of scale, are "trying to work and do everything right but they're waiting a long time for doors and repairs in the house." 

She stated: "We really should be prioritising their needs. Many of them have families and young children. They're trying to do the best they can and this is really just adding to the pressures that are going on for people."

Cllr Quirke O'Meara also said she would like to understand the budget for housing "a little bit more" so it can be seen where the money is being allocated and if there's a way to redistribute it.

Independent councillor Michael O'Meara commented that while it is great news to see more houses coming “on stream” in other parts of Tipperary, he noticed when going through the allocations of houses each month that Nenagh appears to have “very few.” 

After enquiring with staff, he believes the big problem at hand is Uisce Éireann. 

"That is the elephant in the room here," said Cllr O'Meara. "We can't provide housing unless we have the proper infrastructure and the main thread of infrastructure that any house needs or any development needs is water in and water out. Unfortunately, we don't have that.

"That's what is stopping houses in our area. That's what I've been informed is that Irish water (Uisce Éireann) are not on board in the Nenagh municipal area and it's a massive problem we have. So unless that's addressed, we're going to have problems in actually getting houses up and running.”

He suggested that housing in Nenagh be made a priority. 

On the same "wavelength" was independent councillor Joe Hannigan, who agreed it is "quite evident" that a huge problem facing new housing is a lack of infrastructure. 

"What's actually happened in the area here is that the price of houses in the area has gone through the roof, relatively speaking, simply because demand is better than supply.

“Something has to be done about it," he stated. 

In response to these points, Rosemary Joyce, Senior Executive Officer for the Nenagh MD, confirmed that the housing maintenance figure will be determined as part of the overall budget process of the Council, which councillors will have the opportunity to engage with.

She said she will look into the possibility of circulating a document that explains the housing budget in more detail in advance of these workshops.

Ms Joyce encouraged the councillors to "keep raising" their concerns in regards to housing but reminded them, "We don't control Uisce Éireann."