ALONE “There is no political ambition to tackle the housing crisis”
Governments plan to build 6,000 houses in 2014 is inadequate – 89,000 houses are needed
Dublin, 24th August 2014 ALONE has today vocalised concerns around the lack of focus the Government and local councils are showing with regard to tackling the housing crisis.
CEO of ALONE, Sean Moynihan says, “There is a lack of ambition in political plans to provide 6,000 housing units to house the 100,000 people on the waiting list. There is no motivation or incentive for Councils to develop their unused sites and land with social housing providers. Older people are not and will never be attractive to private renters and it is the responsibility of local councils to ensure that they are providing suitable housing for all demographics, not just families.”
In Dublin, those in need of single person housing are facing the biggest deficit with 13,423 social housing applications seeking one person abodes. 24.7% of units required to meet demand in the Dublin region are for one person households, signalling that one-bed houses need to be at the forefront of the housing agenda for Dublin politicians. In the capital one and two bed houses make up 54.4% of the housing needs, compared to 30% of the population nationally. (Source Housing Agency 2013)
ALONE provide 100 houses for older people in need but for every new house they make available, they have to turn away 24 applicants. Since 2009, the number of older people at risk of poverty and deprivation has drastically risen from one in ten, to one in five. (Source, CSO 2012) A report from Housing.ie, stated that, in 2013 5% of all social housing applicants were over the age of 60 and 40% of all applicants required single person households. (Source Housing.ie)
Moynihan continued, “Older, single people are not being catered for in the housing market and we are seeing a distinct lack of conversation around the very immediate needs of this at-risk demographic in the political agenda. Everyone has the right to a home, yet for the 20% of over 65’s who survive on €186 a week, this is almost impossible in the currently burgeoning rental market. Of the 6,000 social housing units the government are providing this year – how many of these will target the deficit in single person housing?”
In the last number of months countless social housing providers have vocalised their concerns on the issue yet despite this, politicians are not giving this serious issue due consideration – concrete, comprehensive plans are crucial to tackle Ireland’s growing housing issues, particularly in relation to single occupant housing.