East Meath social housing crisis sees 415 on waiting list

A 'state of emergency' should be declared over the social housing situation in east Meath, where 415 applicants are on Meath County Council"s housing list, a local councillor said this week. Independent Cllr Jimmy Cudden said the situation had now reached dire proportions and action was urgently needed by the council. He is to raise the issue at this week"s monthly meeting of the Slane Electoral Area Council where he says he will be seeking his colleagues" support for a new initiative when the full council meets early next month. The councillor said that council officials had recently held a seminar on affordable housing in Ashbourne and he supported that initiative. However, he said that social housing needs in the east Meath area had mounted up 'to an astonishing degree'. He went on: 'This is now one of the biggest social problems in the east Meath area. Many of the applicants on the housing list are living either in overcrowded conditions in family homes, or in caravans. Many of them have been on the list a long time and see little hope of getting housed.' Having checked with council officials, the number of housing applicants was as follows: Ardcath 6, Bellewstown 6, Bettystown 94, Donacarney 17, Donore 28, Duleek 80, Julianstown 10, Laytown 91, Mornington 19, Slane 34, Stamullen 27, Gormanston 1, Drogheda 2. Cllr Cudden said that a huge drawback in the provision of social housing was that there was no landbank in Ardcath, Bellewstown, Duleek, Julianstown or Slane. 'This scenario cannot be tolerated any longer. We have one applicant who has been on the list for seven years. That kind of situation is unheard of. I believe that Meath County Council will have to declare a state of emergency as regards social housing. 'Six or seven years ago, we thought that we had come to grips with the social housing programme in east Meath. However, we now find that the list is huge at 415 applicants. There were no social housing units built in east Meath last year - that is nothing short of disastrous. It is hard to say what the problem is, but things have slipped very badly in the last few years.' Cllr Cudden said that three to four council houses in the area were lying idle because the council had no money to repair them. 'I want to ask the Minister for the Environment and the Minister for Housing what is going on here? This crisis seems to have slipped under everyone"s radar and now is the time to face up to it,' he declared.