Affordable housing not affordable

Affordable housing not affordable enough - Mulherin

Anton McNulty

THE ISSUE of affordable housing in Ballina sparked a lively debate at last week’s Town Council meeting, with some councillors calling for an increase in the income threshold and others complaining that ordinary people cannot afford them.
Since September 2005, there have been 67 applications for affordable housing in Ballina, with 30 eligible applicants. The town clerk, Ms Carmel Murphy, said there were 17 affordable units available and 13 under construction, and, while the Council would be advertising them, there was no closing date.
Cllr Willie Nolan, who is also a member of the Strategic Policy Committee on Housing, said the current threshold limit was €40,000 and should be increased. He explained that there were people just above the threshold who, because of their family circumstances, found it difficult to get a bank loan and the threshold should be put up to €50,000.
Ms Murphy told the meeting that eligibility for affordable housing is assessed using a points scheme whereby a number of factors such as your income, the number of years you are on the waiting list, whether or not you are a first time buyer, the rent you pay and other issues are taken into account. She added, however, that the scheme was currently under review.
The price of the houses in Ballina, €125,000, is too high, according to Cllr Michelle Mulherin, and a lot of people cannot afford them.
“I think the reality is that people applying for affordable housing in Ballina cannot afford the houses even if they are working. Even families on two incomes cannot afford a loan and the problem is affordable housing is not affordable enough,” said Cllr Mulherin.
Her point was backed up by Cllr Tommy Cooke who said he did not know anyone on €50,000 who would be looking for affordable housing and the Council should be helping people on lower incomes to buy houses.
Cllr Mary Kelly pointed out that the price of an affordable house did not include the legal fees and agreed with Cllr Nolan that the threshold should be increased just like the medical card threshold. She said that she was told by a constituent on an income of €40,000 that the maximum they could borrow was two-and-a-half times their income and €100,000 was inadequate.
However, the Mayor of Ballina refuted this claim, saying the days of only borrowing two-and-a-half times your earnings was ‘long gone’. He said, from his experience, a couple in their twenties on minimum wage would easily get a mortgage from any of the three lenders in town.
Cllr Frances McAndrew said that most people do not have a clue how to go about finding out if they they will qualify for affordable housing. She said that if they are in doubt they should go to the Council for advice.