More money to be sought to buy homes for Kildare tenants

Kildare County Council is to seek more money from the Minister for Housing seeking money to fund the Tenant in Situ scheme - which facilitates the purchase of homes rented privately and where the tenant is at risk of eviction because the landlord is selling.

Two councillors - Chris Pender and Pat Balfe - say this is needed because of the increasing demand on the scheme.

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They say it plays a critical role in preventing homelessness.

They also say it’s essential that adequate resources are made available to ensure KCC “can act quickly and effectively where a tenant is at risk of losing their home due to a property being placed on the open market.”

At a KCC meeting, Cllr Pender said the scheme has assisted 55 families in the county last year and "it made a real difference in preventing homelessness.”

Cllr Pender also highlighted the plight of single people who find it very difficult to access suitable accommodation - partly because of the shortage of one bedroom housing.

Caller Aoife Breslin said that the provision of €15m, earmarked for KCC for 2025, is not enough.

“We haven't got a fair allocation,” she said, adding that “homelessness is a national scandal.”

Cllr Suzanne Doyle also said that the provision was not enough and said that funding should be provided on a rolling basis as opposed to a stop start system.

Cllr Paula Mulroe said is it more cost effective to deal with homelessness as it is affecting people - ranger than trying to tackle it after it happens.

Independent councillor Tom McDonnell said that the problem is being exacerbated by the numbers of people coming into Ireland “through an open border” and he said building 100,000 homes would not deal with the issue - an observation which drew a critical reaction from a number of councillors.

KCC previously indicated that no money was available and this meant the council cannot purchase any tenant in situ properties.

KCC official Annette Aspell said that the allocation for this year is “fully utilised.”

She said it will be spent on a combination of sales to be completed, refurbishment costs and buy and renew properties.

Ms Aspell also said KCC concluded 22 second sales last year.