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One applicant 14 years on housing waiting list

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THERE are 351 applicants on the housing waiting list who have expressed a preference for Shannon and at least one has been on the list for the last 14 years.

Shannon Town Council met on Tuesday and Fine Gael Councillor Mary Brennan brought a motion before the meeting seeking information on the numbers on the list.

In a written response, Liam O’Connor, acting administrative officer with the council’s housing section stated, “At present, there are 351 applicants on the housing waiting list that have expressed Shannon as their first area of preference for housing. Based on experience to date, it is likely that a significant proportion of these applicants are interested in housing support via rent supplement only and do not wish to be considered for standard local authority housing.”

He also stated that the 15 applicants on the housing waiting list for the longest period applied for social housing support between March of 1999 and February of 2005.

While the figure of 351 seems high, he said that some of those on the list don’t actually want houses but must be on the list to get rent supplement.

“As outlined above, many applicants are only interested in housing support via rent supplement and do not wish to be considered for standard local authority housing. In certain cases, applicants may not be capable of independent living but must remain on the housing list in order for them to access rent supplement. It may be the case also that some of these applicants are no longer in the area. A statutory assessment of housing needs will be undertaken in the next few months and all housing applications will be reviewed as part of this exercise. Applicants for housing may be removed from the housing waiting list if they refuse two reasonable offers of housing over a 12-month period, as per the council’s Social Housing Allocation Scheme.”

While Councillor Brennan’s motion stated the town councillors “should have some insight into the housing list and be able to have some input into who is being housed locally”, Mr O’Connor’s reply outlined why this isn’t the case. “The allocation of social housing in Shannon is an executive function of Clare County Council.

Housing applications include sensitive personal information, which the council cannot disclose, as it must comply with data protection legislation. Therefore, details of applicants on the housing waiting list cannot be disclosed to elected members.”

A sometimes-animated discussion on the state of the housing list took place, with some testy exchanges between Councillor Brennan and Mr O’Connor.

During the discussion, Councillor Cathy McCafferty criticised the lack of information available to herself and her colleagues. “I feel there should be transparency with regard to how citizens and their public representatives are treated by a local authority when they apply for social housing. It is unacceptable that certain people can be passed over for years on end and no reason given. I would propose that this council gets legal advice from our solicitor as to what information a public representative is entitled to have access to in this regard.”

Councillor Gerry Flynn said the matter had been raised at county council level and that data protection legislation is being used against the public representatives.

The county council’s director of housing, Bernadette Kinsella, is also Shannon town manager and Councillor Flynn accused her of being inflexible. “I don’t know how flexible the current manager is; I don’t see much flexibility, to tell you the truth.”

Councillor Sean McLoughlin said he didn’t understand how “people think they are too good to live in council houses but have no problem taking rent subsidy.”

Responding to some of the points raised, Ms Kinsella said it wasn’t necessarily the case that all of those on the list are seeking support by way of getting a council house.

She also defended herself against the accusation of inflexibility. “It’s not a question of exercising flexibility or not.

“There is a data protection act and I can’t apply it in an a la carte way.” She said it is not in her power to change legislation.

Councillor Brennan was critical of the fact that one person was on the list for almost 14 years but Mr O’Connor said he didn’t want to give any details of the individual in question, lest they be identified.

 

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