Calls for Minister to meet Kildare councillors over Tenant-in-Situ scheme

Social Democrats Councillor Chris Pender has called on Housing Minister James Browne to meet directly with councillors in Kildare, after months of raising concerns about the lack of available funding for the Tenant-in-Situ scheme in the county.

Cllr Pender, who has been consistently highlighting the issue at both local and national level, said that while the Minister’s decision to meet with Dublin City Council is a welcome step, it is long overdue – and must be extended to Kildare and beyond.

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“I’ve been raising this issue for months – in council meetings, with officials, and publicly – and I know I’m not alone,” said Cllr Pender.

“The situation in Kildare hasn’t just emerged. It’s been developing in plain sight, and the Department’s failure to engage earlier has left local authorities with no room to act.”

According to Cllr Pender, in 2024, Kildare County Council was sanctioned to acquire 55 homes under the Tenant-in-Situ scheme, eventually delivering 84 units – protecting dozens of families from homelessness.

However, delayed completions and capped refurbishment budgets mean that €14.58 million of the 2025 funding allocation is already committed, leaving no available budget to support any new Tenant-in-Situ purchases this year.

Cllr Pender said that the scheme, which is intended to prevent homelessness by allowing local authorities to purchase homes where tenants are at risk of eviction, has become “effectively inoperable in Kildare for 2025.”

“There’s a growing gap between what the Government says the scheme can deliver and what councils are actually able to do,” he said.

“Families in Kildare are being let down – not by their council, but by a lack of flexibility, clarity, and leadership at national level.”

While acknowledging the Minister’s recent U-turn to meet with Dublin City Council following sustained pressure in the Dáil from Social Democrats Housing, Local Government and Heritage Spokesperson Deputy Rory Hearne, Cllr Pender said this engagement needs to go further.

“Rory Hearne has done incredible work bringing this issue to national attention – but local councillors have been raising the red flag too.

“The Minister must meet not just council executives, but the elected councillors in Kildare who are dealing directly with affected tenants and families every day.”

“The Tenant-in-Situ scheme is only as strong as the support behind it – and right now, local government is being asked to deliver a scheme without the tools to make it work. That has to change.”