More than 450 households waiting for social housing in Leitrim

Demand continues to outstrip the supply of social housing, with 458 households currently on Leitrim County Council’s social housing waiting list.

A further 47 social housing support applications have yet to be validated, are awaiting additional information or are awaiting approval.

The figures were discussed at a recent meeting of Manorhamilton Municipal District, where Cllr Justin Warnock sought an update on the number of households awaiting social housing and the number of applications received but yet to be processed within the Manorhamilton MD.

However, a response from the Director of Services for Housing noted that it is not possible to provide a breakdown by Municipal District until applications are approved/finalised.

Cllr Warnock told the meeting that councillors are facing public criticism over social housing allocations amid a shortage of available homes, with complaints that local people are being overlooked in favour of applicants from other areas.

“We’re all getting emails that we’re looking after everybody but our own,” he said.

“It’s annoying to me that we’re not doing enough, but we’re doing as much as we possibly can because we don’t have houses. There’s families going to be waiting a long time,” he added.

Cllr Warnock also asked how many houses had been allocated for social housing so far in 2026, but the figure was not immediately available.

“We have people diving into the figures in this county and they’re coming out with the wrong stats. We shouldn’t have to take abuse for that,” he said.

He argued that, with so few social houses being allocated overall, the number going to applicants from different areas would also be relatively small.

Cllr Pádraig Fallon said that Leitrim delivers on housing when adequate funding is provided, pointing to the Council’s record of meeting its housing targets despite being a relatively small local authority.

“Those local authorities need to be rewarded,” he said.

Cllr Warnock also highlighted a lack of suitable land in areas where housing is needed as another obstacle to increasing the supply of homes. He said the Council needed to build houses rather than purchase existing properties.

An official response from the Director of Services for Housing stated: “There are currently 458 households on Leitrim County Council’s social housing waiting list.

“There are 47 social housing support applications that have been received by the Council which are yet to be validated, awaiting further information, or approved.

“It is not possible to determine a breakdown per Municipal District until applications are approved/finalised.”

Cllr Warnock also put forward a motion asking the Roads Department to add the L61212 in Lattone, Kiltyclogher, to the Community Involvement Scheme (CIS) for improvement works in 2027.

A response noted: “Once the 2027 CIS scheme is open, an application form can be sent to the interested party.”