Despite difficulties, outlook on housing in Tipperary is good, says minister

Above: Accompanying Darragh O’Brien (centre), Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage, at a presentation at the Tipperary County Council offices in Clonmel were, from left, Cllr Marie Murphy, county council Cathaoirleach; Cllr Michael Murphy, Mayor of Clonmel; Cllr Siobhán Ambrose; county council Director of Housing Sinead Carr and Joe McGrath, county council CEO. Picture: John D Kelly

Tipperary County Council is planning to deliver well over 800 social homes over the next few years and that target will be exceeded.
That’s according to Housing Minister Darragh O’Brien, who was speaking during a recent visit to Clonmel.
“I’m confident they (the county council) will build over 1,000 new social homes (in that time frame).
“I’m under no illusions about the challenges on housing but the outlook is good,” he stated.
The housing crisis has been an area of much concern for some time now, not least in south Tipperary.
In recent weeks, local politicians and Fr Michael Toomey, Parish Priest in Ardfinnan, have highlighted cases where families have been forced to sleep in cars overnight because of a lack of emergency accommodation, while other families have had to leave hotels in which they were accommodated because the hotels were fully booked for other engagements.
‘TOUGH’
When the Minister was asked what he would say to people who were in those desperate situations, he replied “it has been tough for people, there’s no doubt in my mind that the issue of homelessness is the most acute one, that’s where people feel it most”.
“My approach to funding local authorities is to bring back vacant housing stock and vacant social housing stock, which they’re doing again, to get people out of those situations, and I’m absolutely determined to do it.
“My approach to situations like that is a housing-led approach. We’ve got to increase supply for people to provide them with safe and secure homes.
“We’ve seen some really good schemes here in Tipperary today.
“I’m more than satisfied with the pipeline of homes that we have to build in this county this year and next and into the future.
“The council knows it has the money to do it, and they have the resources and have been given the additional staff to do it.
“They’re partnering well with our approved housing bodies, and we’re really catching up on that space.”
He said there had been at least ten years of under supply in housing, “and we’re catching up”.
“The Government’s Housing For All plan is the most significant intervention that any Government has made in housing in the history of the state.
“And the important thing for people to know is that it’s fully supported and fully funded.
“We’re pushing forward with our affordable housing schemes as well,” he stated.
“From July 1 our first Home Share Equity Scheme launches, which is available right across the country as a supply side measure that will help to activate supply.
“It will also help those young and not so young people who are renting, and who want to buy to be able to bridge the gap from the finance that they have and the finance that they need, with the state taking an equity.
“Our completion figures on new homes right across the country are the highest since 2007.
“First time buyer mortgages are the highest that they’ve been since 2007 also, and we’re going to build more social homes this year than any year previously in the history of the state.
“As Housing Minister I’m acutely aware of the responsibility that I have and that this Government has to deliver for our people and we’re determined to do that.”