Updated 11.32am
THE NUMBER OF households qualifying for social housing has fallen by 9 per cent over the past two years, according to figures published yesterday.
The Summary of Social Housing Assessments 2013 revealed that 89,872 households were on the social housing waiting list as of May 2013, although they were assessed with a more detailed methodology than the previous survey in 2011.
72 per cent of these homes were relying on social welfare as their only source of income.
The majority of households on the list were made up of single person households, at 44 per cent, followed by single adults with a child or children at 30 per cent.
The Irish Council for Social Housing branded the figures as a cause of ‘serious concern’, and that the squeeze on housing stock is much more acute than the CSO has previously predicted.
“Momentum”
Responding to these Department of Local Government figures, Minister for Housing Jan O’Sullivan said they emphasised the need for “momentum” behind the delivery social housing.
She said measures to address the issue include a return to “mainstream local authority housing construction in 2014″ and an enchantment of “the role of the not-for-profit sector in the provision of social homes”.
She also expects a recently announced €100m construction programme to make 630 new homes available over the new two years.
5,000 extra housing units are due to be added to the social housing stock next year.
NAMA has provided as many as 500 homes this year.
Originally published 11.07am
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