Call for review of where Limerick regeneration families are rehoused
Cllr James Collins, FF, who is based in Dooradoyle, said Limerick County Council, which is acquiring houses with €8 million granted this year from the Regeneration Agency, has embarked on a policy of placing all these families in the Dooradoyle andRaheen areas.
He said: “The council claim they are concentrating the regeneration families in this area because there is a lower percentage of social housing in these suburbs. But this is not the case as they have a much higher level of social housing. The council is not taking into account the social housing funded by the HSE through their rent supplement scheme. The county council is not taking this into account in pursuing their current policy which has been decided on without any consultation with the local public representatives.”
Mr Collins said many problems have been occurring over the past 12 months in his area and those primarily responsible were those being housed with the financial help of the HSE.
He said: “There must be more transparency in how these families are being moved into areas. At present we have three agencies involved: the regeneration agency, the council and the HSE. The Regeneration Agency suggest to the council who should be rehoused and the council then get the houses for them. As of now we have too much unofficial social housing in Raheen and Dooradoyle because of thosegiven rent supplements from the HSE and I don’t understand why the city environs are the only place where families being relocated under the Regeneration Plan are being placed.
“With the HSE there seems to be free-for-all with nobody answerable for the behaviour of people they help get housing and who then persist in causing problems in the area,” he said.
