THE October meeting of Kilrush Town Council, which was held last Thursday, heard that there are 112 applicants for social housing on Kilrush Town Council’s housing list. Six families have been allocated tenancies so far in 2009 and three transfers have taken place to facilitate growing families.

In addition to the 112 applicants, a number of people who have been on the town council housing list have joined the RAS Scheme, which is administered by Clare County Council. A person qualifies for the RAS scheme after being in receipt of rent supplement for 18 months.
Housing statistics were sought by Councillor Tom Prendeville, who asked town manager, Nora Kaye to report on all aspects of the housing programme. The meeting also heard that, at present, there are no affordable houses for sale in the Kilrush town area, under affordable housing legislation.
Councillor Prendeville also asked for information relating to the number of persons on the waiting list, the numbers applying for and availing of social and affordable housing and the status of the proposed second phase of the John Paul Estate Regeneration programme.
The meeting heard that there is currently no indication of funding from the Department of Environment in relation to phase two of the John Paul Estate Regeneration Programme.
Kilrush town clerk, John Corry also informed the meeting that there are a number of vacant properties in Sycamore Drive and Beech Park and one house in Island View.
These vacant properties have qualified for grant funding from the Department of the Environment, Heritage and Local Government under the Energy Efficiency Grant scheme.
A grant provision of €75,000 has been provided, with Kilrush Town Council having to provide €25,000 from its own resources.
The funding is limited to vacant properties, provided that they achieve a minimum of a C1 Building Energy Rating (BER) after the works have been completed.
It is now a requirement of all housing authorities that a BER assessment be carried out on all vacant houses before re-letting. It is anticipated that these works would be complete by the end of this year.
The houses will be allocated once the works have been completed and the houses have been retested to ensure that they have reached the C1 energy rating status.