Significant reduction in South Kildare housing waiting list
Photo for illustrative purposes only
THE number of applicants on the social housing list in the Athy Municipal District has been reduced significantly.
Across the district — which is made up of Athy and Castledermot as well as a number of villages and townlands — there are currently 900 social housing applicants, representing a decrease of over 400 in the 18 months since it emerged that there were 1332 on the list in October 2024.
Those figures from 2024 may have been an underestimate due to limitations in how the data is collected.
The updated figures emerged from the most recent municipal district meeting, when cllr Mark Leigh asked the council to inform the elected members of the social housing list numbers for the district.
The response from the council’s housing department said that there are 900 applicants on the list.
Cllr Leigh asked for a breakdown of the numbers per area, but the council did not provide this.
Cllr Leigh told the after the meeting that “it’s great to see we’re down to 900 in the Municipal District now”.
He noted that people in HAP (Housing Assistance Payment) accommodation are not included in both the new figures and the 2024 ones and said that “to be honest HAP accommodation is now negligible as landlords by and large don’t engage with HAP”.
Cllr Leigh also said - regarding the new figures - that “there’s an awful lot more to do but it’s encouraging”.
