Newbridge councillor criticises government plan to cut emergency accommodation

NEWBRIDGE Social Democrats cllr Chris Pender has strongly criticised a Government proposal that would allow local authorities to withdraw emergency accommodation from individuals or families who reject more than one offer of social housing.

Labeling the move “cruel, dangerous and a denial of basic rights,” cllr Pender warned that such a policy would punish vulnerable people for refusing housing options that may be unsuitable, unsafe, or inaccessible.

“This isn’t about people being difficult,” said cllr Pender. “It’s about people protecting their families—avoiding dangerous areas, staying close to vital medical services, or needing appropriate disability access. You cannot, in good conscience, take away a roof from someone because the place offered would put them or their children at risk. That’s not housing policy – that’s coercion.” 

The proposal, first reported by the Irish Examiner, has already sparked outrage among national homelessness charities.

Cllr Pender said the situation in County Kildare makes the prospect of such a policy especially worrying.

“At the end of May 2025, 165 adults were in emergency accommodation in Kildare—just one fewer than in April. That’s no real progress,” he said. “And those figures don’t include people sleeping in cars, staying on friends’ sofas, or fleeing domestic violence. We’re talking about real people and real lives, in a system already at breaking point.” 

The Mid-East region, which includes Kildare, recorded 219 children living in emergency accommodation in April. Nationally, the figure stood at 15,580 people – 10,805 adults and 4,775 children.

Concluding his remarks, Pender called on the Minister for Housing to publicly reject the proposal and commit to a rights-based, compassionate approach to the housing crisis.

“Housing is a human right. That should be the starting point for every policy in this country. When you begin from that principle, you don’t threaten people with homelessness – you work to prevent it. You don’t shame people – you listen to them. You don’t use housing as a stick – you use it as the foundation of a fairer, safer society.” 

“We are failing people every single day we delay action,” he said. “We have the resources, the data, and the public support to do better. The question is: does this Government have the will?”