Council is way behind on housing targets

KERRY County Council has bought 15 houses this year but built none according to figures from the Department of Housing Planning Community and Local Government.

In April 2015, Kerry County Council announced a three year social housing plan which involved the provision of 1,058 housing units by the end of next year.

Of these, 600 were to be rented and 240 were council properties that were expected to become vacant and are to be refurbished.

Another 110 homes were to be purchased and the rest – 108 – would be built by the council.

The Kerry plan was unveiled as part of the then government’s €62 million social housing plan which had been unveiled a short time beforehand.

With just over 15 months to go, Kerry County Council appear to be some way behind the targets they set themselves in the plan. Those targets were described by KCC CEO Moira Murrell at the time as being ‘very ambitious’.

According to the Department’s figures in 2015 and to date in 2016, KCC has completed the purchase of 42 houses, 27 last year and 15 so far in 2016.

This leaves them with fifteen months to complete the purchase of an additional 68 units, a task which is likely to be complicated by increasing house prices and an ever worsening lack of supply.

When it comes to the council’s housing plan targets, the situation is considerably worse with regards to building homes.

Since the plan was announced the council has built just two new homes. Both were built last year and none have been completed so far this year.

That leaves the council with 15 months to build 106 houses. Since 2010 they have built only 88.

Kerry County Council CEO Moira Murrell who had described the targets as ‘very ambitious.’