Tipperary councillor reiterates call for emergency meeting on housing crisis

A Tipperary county councillor has reiterated his call for an emergency meeting of Tipperary County Council to discuss the ongoing housing crisis.

Last year, Cllr Seamus Morris of Nenagh, looked for an emergency housing meeting to address housing crisis.

He said the crisis had now escalated into a "humanitarian crisis".

"Since last year our ability to provide housing has lessened with landlords selling houses at a rate that we cannot replace them, rents in Nenagh have risen 16.5%," said the Independent councillor.

He told the council 's director of housing Sinéad Carr that its own analysis of household affordability had found that 21.2% of households in Tipperary were experiencing affordability issues to put a roof over their heads.

"Your response to me when I looked for the meeting was heavily weighted towards the provision of affordable homes for purchase and rent, but yet the Government has decided that Tipperary should be left out of their affordable housing plans in the Housing plan up to 2026," he said.

Cllr Morris said that the council's own HAP tenants were having to dig deeper and deeper to make up the increasing rents each month and it is not sustainable.

"Add to this the reckless decision of our Government to take tens of thousands of Ukrainian refugees when we hadn't the ability to house them," he said.

"I am again asking for an emergency housing meeting to include our TDs and senator," said Cllr Morris.