Only 19% of the 596 social houses in 'pipeline' for Carlow are being built by Council
New figures have revealed
Only 19% of the 596 social houses in the "pipeline" for Carlow are being built by the local authority, Carlow Live can reveal.
Director of Services, Michael Brennan, gave members the figures at the full meeting of the Council in December.
He confirmed that there are 596 social houses at construction stage or "in our pipeline" in Carlow but he also added that just 116 of them are being constructed by the local authority.
It means that 19% of the almost 600 social houses being built in Carlow over the next few years are actually being built by the local authority and this is a percentage that has caused some concern with at least one local representative.
Cllr Adrienne Wallace said: "I think the state is attempting to abscond on its duty to provide housing for people and instead push the responsibility onto charities and other bodies."
Cllr Wallace says Approved Housing Bodies are providing housing and "that's a good thing my all means but the State should be providing the vast bulk".
She added: "Instead the State are more or less gifting public land to housing association bodies...and the tenants never have the ability to own their homes.
"It goes straight back to the AHB. I don't think housing should be built to provide profits for people, I think housing is a right.
"But unfortunately we are in a system that is very good at commodifying our rights and selling them back to us.
"600 houses over the course of a year or two in the worst housing crisis in the history of the State is not addressing the issue.
"We need to be forceful about compulsory purchasing vacant homes and moving away from privatised housing as that model has clearly led us to this point."