Government condemned for housing failure in Kildare

Cllr Chris Pender of the Social Democrats has strongly criticised the Government following confirmation that Kildare County Council will not be in a position to purchase any additional homes this year under the Secondhand Acquisition Programme - a programme that now covers all secondhand housing acquisitions, including what was previously known as the Tenant in Situ scheme.

The Department of Housing has allocated €15 million to Kildare for 2025. However, Kildare County Council has confirmed that the entire amount is already committed to property purchases that were initiated but not completed in 2024, as well as to homes already earmarked under the Buy and Renew scheme.

This leaves no capacity to purchase new homes this year, despite continued increases in housing need and homelessness across the county.

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Cllr Pender said: “What this means in real terms is that families who receive a notice to quit this year, who would previously have been supported under the Tenant in Situ scheme, will now be told there is no funding available to keep them in their homes.

That’s not because the Council doesn’t want to help — it’s because the Government has failed to provide the necessary funding to meet the need in Kildare.”

Cllr Pender also criticised the Department’s decision to cap refurbishment costs for Tenant in Situ properties last year, a move which is now placing additional pressure on Kildare’s Housing Maintenance budget.

The full impact is still being assessed, but it is expected to create further budgetary strain as preparations for Budget 2026 get underway.

In addition, the Capital Assistance Scheme, which provides housing through Approved Housing Bodies (AHBs) for people experiencing homelessness and people with disabilities, is now also being funded from the same programme. As that funding has already been exhausted, no further AHB acquisitions can be supported in 2025.

“The Department has essentially rolled several critical housing supports into one programme and then underfunded it,” Cllr Pender continued.

“There’s no flexibility, no emergency provision, and no clarity on what’s going to happen to the families, older people and disabled individuals who will now fall through the cracks. The idea that a county the size of Kildare — with growing population and growing housing need — won’t be able to purchase a single new home this year is completely unacceptable.”

Cllr Pender is calling on the Minister for Housing to immediately review Kildare’s allocation and provide additional, ring-fenced funding to enable the Council to respond to urgent housing needs in 2025.

He is also calling on government to restore adequate refurbishment funding, to avoid further strain on Housing Maintenance, and to clarify future plans for the Secondhand Acquisition Programme, especially in relation to homelessness prevention and AHB support.

The Social Democrats councillor concluded: “This isn’t just about budgets or figures on a spreadsheet — this is about real people, in real homes, facing real uncertainty. The longer the Government delays in addressing this crisis, the more families will be pushed into homelessness. That’s something we should never accept.”