Majority of Kildare's social housing go to Irish nationals, council figures show
Photo for illustrative purposes only
OF THE 911 people allocated social housing directly from Kildare County Council from 2019 to 2024, approximately 78.5 per cent were Irish nationals, according to a report released by the council’s Housing Department in the last quarter of 2024.
The figures show that 715 of the people were Irish nationals, 148 were from European Economic Area (EEA) countries, 47 were from non-EEA countries, and one was from the UK.
The data, which was released following a motion by Cllr Tom McDonnell in September 2024, comes amid rising tensions over housing allocations in a recent Kildare-Newbridge MD meeting.
At a recent MD meeting, cllr McDonnell questioned, “Who actually gets those houses? Were they indigenous Irish people that got them?”.
This prompted Mayor of the Kildare-Newbridge MD Peggy O’Dwyer to intervene, calling the tone “inappropriate.”
It was also mentioned that that these figures had been previously circulated to local councillors in 2024.
While cllr McDonnell argued he was seeking “transparency”, the housing department reaffirmed that allocations follow the housing list process, which works on a first-come, first first-served basis.
