A Kildare TD Says KCC Lost Out On Maynooth Homes As Department "Dragged Its Feet".

Friday, 14 May 2021 06:20

File image: Patricia Ryan, TD/Houses of the Oireachtas.

80% of homes in Mullen Park, Maynooth, were sold to an investment firm.

A Kildare TD contends that Kildare County Council lost out on purchasing a substantial number of homes in a Maynooth housing estate, because of delays in the Department of Housing.

135 of 170 homes in Mullen Park were subsequently purchased by Round Hill Capital, for around €53 million.

Kildare South Sinn Féin Deputy, Patricia Ryan, says "I was shocked to learn today that Kildare County Council had been in discussions to purchase a large number of homes in Mullen Park in Maynooth, the estate which has been substantially purchased by institutional investors in the last week. The Council lost out when the Department of Housing dragged its feet in providing the necessary funding. This is not acceptable; how many more times has this happened that we are not aware of?."

There are are over 3,000 applicants, representing single people, couples and families, on KCC's social housing waiting list.

The time most applicants spend on the social housing waiting list can be in excess of a decade

Deputy Ryan adds "I am absolutely inundated with queries relating to housing at the moment. Every representation I do comes back from Kildare County Council with a copy and paste answer...I don’t blame Kildare County Council; they are one of the better local authorities for delivering homes under Rebuilding Ireland. The government needs to set more ambitious targets, and more importantly, to provide the funding to deliver homes. And to deliver infrastructure like schools to match.