Cavan County Council has been asked to speed up the turn-around time for re-letting social houses.
Sinn Féin’s Paddy McDonald says he’s concerned that houses left vacant are at risk of vandalism and dilapidation.
There are currently 99 vacant homes in Cavan which are awaiting work in order to be allowed into circulation for people on the housing list.
So far this year 51 have been returned and 23 more are on the way.
However, Concillor Paddy McDonald has stated that turnaround times should be 3 months or less as is seen in other areas in the country and questioned the low rate in Cavan.
The executive informed members that there are two main factors that reduce turnaround times.
One is funding, and while that has been increased this year and should improve the rate at which the houses are let, they are dependent on the same funding allocation next year to insure the reduction of vacant stock.
Secondly, they highlighted the major issue with refusals.
This year 30% of houses offered in Bailieborough were refused, while a quarter in Cavan Town were refused.
Each time a refusal is received a new assessment needs to be carried out on the next possible tenant which slows allocation times significantly.
Councillor McDonald concluded by stating anyone who refuses a house once should be stricken from the list thereafter.
