Boarded up council houses need to be allocated to Families

Bray Sinn Féin representatives Cllr John Brady, Cllr Rossa Murray and Oliver O'Brien have labelled the boarding up of council houses, especially during a housing crisis as disgraceful. They have also called for a management plan to be put in place to ensure vacant council houses and housing land banks don't become dumping grounds and magnets for anti-social behaviour.

Speaking after visiting vacant council properties on the O'Byrne Road Cllr Brady said "There is a serious housing crisis right across the state and Wicklow and Bray are no different. In Bray alone there are 827 families on the housing waiting list. It is absolutely disgraceful that at this point in the crisis council houses are still being boarded up and red tape is causing huge delays in them getting reallocated.In Bray alone there are nearly 20 boarded up houses, some of which have been boarded up since last year."

Cllr Murray went onto say "The current government policy of not building social housing is a flawed one which only serves to put money in the pockets of private landlords. When a council house does become available any work needed should be fast tracked to ensure it is reallocated as quickly as possible. Unfortunately too many houses are being left boarded up around Bray for far too long."

Bray Sinn Féin representative Oliver O'Brien continued "Keeping houses boarded up not only deprives another needy family of a home, but they also become magnets for anti-social behaviour and for dumping, this unfortunately drags the whole area down too. I have spoken to many people who have stated that they would willingly take a council house in any condition and carry out whatever work was needed themselves just to get a roof over their heads. Such is the seriousness of the situation these people should be listened to and these boarded up houses should be allocated immediately."

Cllr Brady concluded "The council has many land banks suitable for housing along with boarded up houses, these are all creating problems in communities across Bray. A plan needs to be put in place to ensure the houses are given to needy people as quickly as possible and that the land banks are not dumping grounds and magnets for anti-social behaviour. Only this week after repeated requests from myself and residents of Wolfe Tone, O'Byrne Rd and Sugarloaf Crescent the council has moved on site of a boarded up house on O'Byrne road and started to clear it out. Whilst government policy and red tape is creating a lot of the problems, the council should and cold be more proactive in ensuring houses are reallocated as quick as possible and that they are kept clean."

Brady slams Council for sending Mothers and Children to Homless Shelter in Rathdrum

Wicklow Sinn Féin County Councillor John Brady has labelled the
Housing crisis in Wicklow as despicable, he also stated that the
actions of Bray Town Council in sending young families to a homeless
shelter in Rathdrum as a totally unacceptable solution to the crisis.

Councillor Brady stated "The housing crisis in Wicklow is continuing
to spiral out of control, there are 4,154 families in Wicklow in need
of social housing. Over the last 2 years the situation facing families
has dramatically deteriorated and its now resulted in young families
being referred to a homeless shelter in Rathdrum. The current
government policy has put a stop to the construction of social housing
and a new policy of social leasing enacted. The government has also
cut the amount paid for rental assistance which is forcing people out
of their private rented accommodation because the landlords are
unwilling to reduce the rent. This coupled with a huge shortage to
houses under the Rental Accomodation Scheme (RAS) have created a
ticking housing time bomb that's about to explode."

Cllr Brady went on "I am currently dealing with a number of families
who have been and are in the process of being made homeless. One young
mother from Bray and her 3 children were sent to the homeless shelter
in Rathdrum last week were they still remain. She had to move out of
her private rented accommodation because the landlord needed the house
back for another family member. She has been unable to find another
house in Bray within her price bracket and has had to present herself
and her children as homeless to the Town Council. Even though she has
been on the councils housing list for 7 years the council stated they
have nothing for her and told her to stay with family members or go to
the homeless shelter in Rathdrum, which is 40 km away and served with poor 
public transport."

"It is disgraceful that things have got this bad, but to add insult to
injury for the council to send a young mother with 3 children, one of
which attends school in Bray, to a homeless shelter in Rathdrum is
totally unacceptable. I am aware of at least one other young mother
who is facing the same prospects in 2 weeks time unless action is
taken. This i believe is only the tip of the iceberg, many other
families simply refuse to go to Rathdrum and end up on the floor of a
friend or family member." Brady continued.

He concluded by saying "We need immediate action to be taken in
Wicklow to deal with the housing crisis. It is disgraceful that houses
remain boarded up in Bray whilst young families are forced into a
unsuitable homeless shelter. We need emergency accommodation in Bray
to cater for young families who find themselves homeless and
ultimately we need to force Fine Gael and Labour to get their heads
out of the sand on this issue, we need a change to the flawed housing
policy that's created this human tragedy." Ends