Numbers on social housing lists in Kilkenny rise despite drop across country

Kilkenny County Council was just one of six local authorities that recorded a rise in the number of households on their social housing waiting list in 2020.

New figures releasedby the Department of Housing in the Social Housing Assessments 2020 report reveal 16 more households qualified for the council’s social housing support in 2020. The represents a 2% rise from the 818 households who qualified in 2019 to the 834 recorded last year.

The majority of households in Kilkenny (50%) added to the list in 2020 were people who retired recently.

Just three local authorities – Sligo (4%), Clare (12.9%) and Waterford City & County Council (15.8%) – recorded a larger increase in households qualifying for social housing supports.

Nationally there was a 9.9% decrease in the number of households on social housing waiting list.

Housing Minister Darragh O’Brien welcomed the overall results, saying the overall number of households on local authority waiting lists decreased for a fourth consecutive year.

Minister O’Brien said: “These results are evidence that Government investment in the suite of social housing support initiatives is working. Just under 25,000 households had their housing needs met last year and Budget 2021 has made available €3.3 billion for housing delivery programmes.

“This investment will deliver 12,750 new social homes, the largest social housing delivery programme in the history of the state,” the Minister added.