South Dublin County Council built just 262 social houses in the last five years despite homeless figures rocketing by over twice that amount in the same period.
The shocking figures were revealed at the final meeting of the term of the current council before the local elections on May 24.
Several councillors tabled motions requesting an update on the provision of social housing from council officals.
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The startling statistics show:
- The council delivered 262 social houses over the past five years
- In the same time the numbers on the homeless register rocketed from 234 in 2014 to 630 in March 2019
- No social homes were built in three of the five years of the council term
- Just nine social homes have been delivered this year
- Homeless applicants spend almost four years on the housing list
In spite of the low numbers of homes, the county has been recognised in the Rebuilding Ireland programme as one of the local authorities delivering the most social homes in the country.
Councillor Francis Timmons told Dublin Live the figures were "nothing to be proud of".
He said: "To me, the figures show that Rebuilding Ireland is failing.
"It's absolutely failing everybody it's meant to be helping but particularly the most vulnerable people, which is our homeless.
"It's a very bad reflection for the end of a council term for it [the homeless figures] to be more than it was when we actually were elected.
"It means effectively that South Dublin County Council has failed in its responsibilities to the homeless."
No social homes were built in 2014, 2015 and 2017, while 15 were built in 2016 and 238 were delivered in 2018.
Just nine homes have been completed this year.
Council officials said: "Nine social homes have been delivered to date in 2019 at Killinarden with 103 further social homes currently under construction for delivery in 2019 in developments at Owendoher, Ballyboden (40 homes) and St. Cuthbert’s, Clondalkin (63 homes) while a further 109 social homes are under construction at Corkagh Grange under the national PPP bundle and will be delivered in 2020."
Since 2018 a further eight housing developments comprising 276 social homes have been approved for planning under the Part 8 planning process.
These developments will be completed from 2020 onwards.
Outgoing Councillor Dermot Looney told Dublin Live the delays in building housing have been frustrating for councillors.
He said: "The ultimate responsibility for this relies with Government and they have not shown over the past 10 years, and certainly in the housing crisis over the past seven years, any interest in supporting major investment into social.
"What they are hoping is with a little bit of intervention with mainly things like HAP schemes and the private sector, that the market will fix it for them.
"It simply has been proven that it won't and we're going to need in the next five years far more radical action from Government to do this."
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The council also confirmed that the average wait time for homeless applicants on the housing list is almost four years.
A report in response to a motion from Councillor Madeline Johansson said:"Currently, the actual average time on the housing list for homeless applicants is three and a quarter years of which their average time in homelessness is one year and eight months.
"This indicates that many housing applicants are presenting as homeless as they apply for housing which presents policy challenges and requires further examination of the circumstances causing such situations."
