Housing crisis

April 1989

UNMARRIED mothers are facing a huge housing crisis in Wicklow town with the list of applicants before the local authority at its highest ever level.

At the moment there are 16 unwed mums on the Urban Council housing list and one of those applications was made in January 1987.

And to make matters worse, most of them are living in flats in the town and do not have the comforts of a family income. It is all part of a chronic housing shortage that is now likely to develop into a major problem as the list continues to grow.

Council chairman Cllr Jim Giff last week announced a government allocation for four new houses which will be built on the Crinnion Park site. Members were elated at the prospect of getting even four new houses which was a big contrast in announcements some years back when allocations for hundreds of houses in the town poured in.

The housing list in Wicklow town is divided into three main areas, family units, dwellings for elderly people and small family units that cater for unmarried mothers.

But according to Town Clerk Tony O’Neill, the council will have to depend on casual vacancies arising in order to cater for applicants as there are no prospects at present for major housing development.

‘ The only thing that would help the situation at present would be another Government incentive scheme like special grants, to encourage people to purchase private dwellings,’ he added.

And he made it clear that the whole housing list area would soon become a contentious one with no new development in the pipeline. ‘We will not be able to cater for the demand,’ he added.