'Not a single affordable house delivered to Mayo' - Lawless

Not a single affordable housing unit has been delivered in Mayo.

That shocking fact has been disclosed by Aontú Mayo Councillor Paul Lawless, a general election candidate, who said despite the government’s “bluff and bluster, the facts are stark and shameful."

The Knock-based representative elaborated: “This is truly terrible for the people of Mayo who deserve better.

"The government's real record on housing in Mayo is zero. This would be bad enough in ‘normal times’ but in the grip of the worst housing crisis in history it is absolutely shameful.

“It truly demonstrates a lack of ambition to get to grips with the housing emergency, with Mayo and the western seaboard bearing the brunt of this. It is desperately unfair on the people of our county who want more for themselves and for their children.

“We’ve had statements from government TDs trumpeting how ‘housing is one of its key pillars, but talk is one thing, action is quite another'.

“There are a total of five affordable housing units in the pipeline for Westport.

"Some units are due to be finished in November – but details are very vague; they were initially meant to be social homes but are now believed to be affordable, but the thing is we don’t know.

"There is a huge amount of paperwork to be completed by applicants, so this scheme needs to be advertised in time.

"The lack of urgency by the Department of Housing is quite astounding. We were told last week that 70 new affordable homes are being considered.

"However, when one looks at the facts, this declaration was only a reply following an expression of interest.

"We are talking years away from completion and we know that our Government’s record on finishing projects on time leaves much to be desired, to say the least”.

“Castlebar, Westport and Ballina are considered in the affordable gap. No other towns in Mayo are to be considered for affordable home schemes. Where are the people of Claremorris, Ballinrobe, Ballyhaunis, Charlestown expected to live?

"In a hut? Why are they not entitled to apply to purchase an affordable home? It is another example of regional imbalance as it will inevitably lead to less housing availability in these towns”.

“I have people phoning me every day from these towns looking to buy affordable homes, but nothing is available.

"The truth is the government’s policies are effectively disincentivizing building in these regional towns in the future. The lack of vision and urgency by this government is truly shocking.

“The government is kite flying and playing emotional games with young people who are desperate for their own home.

"t’s not much to ask but this government has taken away any hope of people in regional Mayo ever purchasing an affordable home”.

“These are people’s lives, the personal and societal knock on effects of homelessness are truly awful and so damaging.

“We are a wealthy country but the wealth is definitely not being fairly distributed. We need more affordable homes in every town in Mayo.

"We need to reduce the cost of building. There is a vitality gap that must be addressed. We must work to reduce building costs through reduction in building material and VAT.

“There are brazen attempts to hoodwink the people of Mayo on the eve of an election. The truth is – not one affordable housing unit has been delivered in Mayo.

"Claiming success for ‘considering’ affordable housing in Castlebar - 10 years into a housing crisis is shameful. It is utterly unacceptable."