Senator criticises social housing conditions and waiting lists in Ballinasloe
Fianna Fáil Senator Eugene Murphy has hit out at the "deplorable" state of some social housing stock in Ballinasloe and the "unacceptable" waiting lists for housing in the County Galway town.
The former Roscommon-Galway TD highlighted the fact that many people in the Ballinasloe area have been left languishing on social housing waiting lists for seven or eight years, and he raised the matter in a meeting with the Minister for Housing, Darragh O'Brien, in recent weeks.
"I am dealing with many genuine cases where there is a real need for housing due to unfortunate family circumstances, and in one particular case an individual has been on the housing waiting list for seven or eight years.
"It is totally unacceptable to leave people on a housing waiting period for this length of time.
"There simply just is not enough housing stock available in Ballinasloe and the problem has only escalated over the past year of the pandemic as housing construction was obviously affected," said Senator Murphy.
He also highlighted the fact that there are many idle or vacant council houses in Ballinasloe which could be revamped or refurbished to provide vital housing for people of the area.
"Apart from the dire need for the construction of new social housing stock in Ballinasloe, there is a problem with the existing housing stock as some people are currently living in unacceptable conditions with heating and damp problems or overcrowding," he said.
"It is not acceptable to have more than two people in a one-bedroom apartment and unfortunately this is the case in some circumstances.
"I have raised many representations with Galway County Council, and I want to thank the officials for their assistance. There should be enough resources to address the housing issues, but for some reason the housing needs of the people of Ballinasloe are not being adequately addressed and this needs to be tackled as a matter of urgency,” said Senator Murphy.
The Fianna Fáil Senator said that he would be meeting with the Housing Minister Darragh O'Brien again in the coming weeks in a bid to maintain political pressure in relation to the social housing needs of the people of Ballinasloe.