Figures were released by the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage after Dublin South West TD for Fianna Fail John Lahert had requested them
New figures show that 67 offers of social housing were refused in County Kildare during 2024, according to data returned to the Department of Housing by local authorities, which had been requested by Dublin South West TD for Fianna Fail John Lahert.
Of those, 49 were first refusals and 18 were second refusals, placing Kildare among the counties with the highest number of turned-down offers. Nationally, there were 934 refusals, with 693 being first-time refusals and 241 second-time.
The Department notes that while some inconsistencies exist in how local authorities record these figures, the overall rate of refusals remains low relative to the number of social housing allocations and new homes delivered.
However, refusals can impact local authorities' operations by delaying the tenanting process and sometimes leaving homes vacant longer than necessary. The Department acknowledged that accepting a housing offer is a significant, life-changing decision for many households and must be considered carefully.
To help reduce refusals, the Department continues to promote Choice Based Letting (CBL), a system allowing applicants to bid for properties they are interested in. Authorities using CBL more widely have reported fewer refusals — even for properties that are traditionally harder to let.
Work is ongoing to roll out CBL across all local authorities.
Here’s how Kildare compares to some other counties:
- Cork City had the highest number of refusals, at 121.
- Galway County reported 94 refusals.
- Kerry had 80.
- Dublin reported 60.
- Dublin City saw 64 refusals.
- Wicklow, by contrast, had just 2.
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