The housing waiting list in the city jumped by more than 650 households in the last year, a “truly frightening” figure according to Independent councillor, Catherine Connolly,
Cllr Connolly was reacting to the latest Quarterly Housing report from the Galway City Council’s Housing Department. The report confirms that between March 2014 and March 2015, 670 additional households - which includes both families and individuals - went on the waiting list, raising the overall figure from 3,741 to 4,411.
The housing report, dated March 31, shows the number of households on the waiting list is officially 4,041, with a further 370 households from the County List wishing to be housed in the city, and another 75 further applications waiting to be processed.
This, however, do not include those households in homes under the Rental Accommodation Scheme, the Long Term Leasing Scheme, or whose names have been removed from the housing waiting list.
Cllr Connolly said the new housing report “makes a mockery” of Government plans to build 516 social housing units in Galway between now and 2017. She warned also that if the current rate continues, by 2017 the increase in the number of households will be of the magnitude of 2,010, in addition to the numbers already there.
Cllr Connolly said “any proposal to build additional social housing units” has to be welcomed, but the Government’s proposals “fails to grasp the depth of the housing crisis” in Galway city and “will not even keep up with the number of households added to the waiting list each month/year”.
