Social Housing

There are currently 3,536 households on the waiting list for Social Housing in County Galway with 588 households seeking a home in Ballinasloe.1

Of the 588 households on the waiting list for social housing, 388 households have been on the list for under 5 years with 152 on the list for between 5 and 10 years.

Galway County Council use the Housing Differential Rent Scheme to calculate the amount of rent paid by households which varies depending on household income. In essence, this means that rent is based on ability to pay where if income is low, rent is low and if household income increases so too does the rent. Rent reviews are carried out annually.

A person can only qualify for the social housing waiting list if their income is below €25,000. The maximum income increases to €30,000 for a household (this is the single person allowance with an additional 5% for each adult (max 10%) and 2.5% for each child (max 10%).2

A review into the income eligibility for social housing in each local authority area is underway and has been for some time however, despite being asked the Minister has not indicated when the review will be published.

Galway County Council own 36 acres of land which has been zoned for residential use. We need to see these lands developed for public housing – social and affordable.

 Dunlo Hill (Turnkey) – 40 units – building work to commence soon  Dunlo Street (Regeneration) – approx. 12 units  Possible build on site at Poolboy  Ahascragh – planning permission received for 18 units  2 units in Ballinasloe Town underway through Buy & Renew

Recommendations:

 Publish the findings of the review into the income thresholds in order to qualify for Social Housing  Deliver 100,000 public homes on public lands over a term in Government (5 years) to meet social and affordable need  Prioritise the use of public land for delivery of public housing by Local Authorities

1 http://www.galway.ie/en/services/housing/demand/ 2 http://www.galway.ie/en/services/housing/lahousing/