Call for local construction sites to urgently reopen

Deputy Mayor of South County Dublin David McManus says construction sites for all housing must urgently re-open. 

The local Fine Gael councillor said Level 5 restrictions have allowed some social housing construction to continue however there are currently 300 new social homes paused on South Dublin County Council.

“Building new homes for families is as essential in my view as keeping food on our supermarket shelves,” he said.

“Unlike Covid 19, there is no vaccine for our housing crisis except building homes.

“The Housing Minister needs to show some urgency and get all construction sites for housing back open now.

“We are losing 800 homes a week nationwide.

“On South Dublin County Council, we have 300 new social homes in our 2021 delivery programme stalled due to Level 5 restrictions.

“Within our area of South County Dublin, there were 428 new social homes built in 2019 but only 370 built in 2020 due to Covid restrictions on construction.

“The other three Dublin Councils will have been similarly impacted.

“South Dublin County Council is building 4,500 new homes under the Rebuilding Ireland programme started by Fine Gael.

“This year 9,500 social homes are due to be built nationally but this will not happen unless the Housing Minister shows a sense of urgency to get us back building. Of course, we need all safety protocols followed on sites to minimise Covid 19.”

“Our housing need is urgent and building homes must be essential.

“Data from the CSO highlights a 31.9% reduction in new home completions in the middle of 2020 compared to 2019 due to the lockdown.”