West Mayo social housing should go to local people claims councillor

An Achill councillor has called on Mayo County Council to ensure that only local people avail of new social houses in Mulranny and Achill.

New social housing units are currently being developed in both Mulranny and Achill with 16 units soon to be completed in Mulranny while another 20 units in Achill are currently under construction.

Achill-based Fianna Fáil councillor Paul McNamara told the monthly meeting of Westport/Belmullet Municipal District that he believes that only local people should be considered when the keys of the units are being given out.

“The concerns I have is the people from the area will not get any of those houses,” he told the meeting.

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“It is my belief that people living in those areas should have first preference for those houses in Mulranny and Achill. I hope we won't see a situation where people are coming in from other counties and coming from another end of the county and taking up residents in the social houses in Achill and Mulranny.

“There are Achill people in those areas on the housing list and I hope that they are given preference for those houses. People who are settled in the community and have children going to the local schools in Achill and Mulranny should be given preference,” he said.

The 16 social housing units in Mulranny are located adjacent to St Brendan's Nursing Unit while the 20 units in Achill are located on the grounds of the former Scoil Damhnait Secondary School in Polranny.

Cllr McNamara added that he has spoken to people in both communities and he was voicing their opinion regarding who moved into them.

Seamus Ó Mongáin, Head of the Municipal District explained that social houses are allocated on the basis of priority and involve a 'thorough and rigorous assessment'. However he denied that anybody who is on the homeless list will automatically get a home.

Pierce Kavanagh, Administration Officer in the Belmullet office added that a person who is allocated a social house has to have made a social housing application and a connection to the area is also taken into account. He added that the applicant’s last registered address is also taken into account when allocating a home and a person from another county would not be considered unless they have family connections to the area.