Housing matters raised at council meeting... More single bed units required

The number of applicants on Meath County Council’s social housing waiting list shows that there is a need for more one-bed but also 1.5-bed units of accommodation in the county, an Independent councillor told a council meeting.

Gillian Toole said that when pre-planning discussions are taking place between developers and the council, the developers should be asked to provide one-bed units but also the 1.5-bed units which were the norm in other countries. The 1.5-bed units would allow visitation by grandchildren, allow for sleepovers by carers. She knew that two-bed unit were not generally considered for single applicants. She thought that the council might have to change the current model of housing “because it is not working”, particularly when the demographic of older people was considered.

Meanwhile, the number of new houses to be provided in Navan before the end of next year was 275, Fianna Fail Cllr Padraig Fitzsimons told. These units were badly needed and he complimented the council on the progress made on that front. “The body of work being done is massive”. Council official Barry Lynch that the 275-unit development had been funded by the Department of Housing.

Progress on the 75-house Ashwood development in Ashbourne has been welcomed by Fine Gael Cllr Alan Tobin at a meeting of Meath County Council.

He also asked how the council could get more affordable homes. A development of 74 social houses at Castle street was “looking really well at the moment”. It was hoped there would soon be news on the strategic housing development (SHD) of 702 houses. That was the last of the development land in Ashbourne and it was hoped that the council would start looking at variations of the development plan to facilitate more residential units. He also thanked the council for helping to get the Ashbourne St Patrick’s Day parade back up and running. The parade was the first one since 2019 and had been a huge success, he said.

Sinn Fein Cllr Eddie Fennessy queried why completion dates for certain housing schemes had been pushed out to the third quarter of this year. He asked if the completion dates could be brought forward.

He noted the completion date for houses by Swanbrook Properties and at Beaufort Place in Navan had also been pushed out to quarter three. Those houses were finished as far as he was aware and they still had not been allocated. In relation to the properties on Metges Road, some of those houses looked “near enough to completion” and they were down for completion in quarter four this year. Was there any chance of bringing that date forward, he asked.

Council official Barry Lynch said that in relation to the developments mentioned by the councillor, there were occasions when the developments came in quicker than expected and “it’s great when it happens”. The Swanbrook development was in two different tranches. He reminded councillors that when the council went to choice-based letting, once the houses were ready, there was still a good bit of work to be done. A number of people bid on each property and council staff had to whittle through them to review the applications but also to ensure that people’s police clearances were in order. They had to make sure that applicants were “fully cleared and vetted” before they could go in. They would get units allocated as quickly as possible.

Meath County Council’s inspection of rented properties was the subject of a query by Sinn Fein Cllr Aisling O’Neill at the April meeting of the council.

The matter was raised during the presentation of the monthly report by the council chief executive. Cllr O’Neill said there had been 287 inspections. Thirty one had passed the inspection. She wanted to know if the remainder were below the standard required.

She also noted that in a recent advertisement placed by the council seeking accommodation a request was made that laundry facilities be included. This was something she had raised several months ago and she welcomed this move.

Council official Barry Lynch said that in relation to inspections the failure rate in regard to private rented standards would be “quite high” but even a minor rating could cause failure and the council would have to go back for a second inspection. The number of inspections had been increased since the beginning of the year.