Newly built social homes sitting idle for over 8 months in Wexford

Why are they refusing to move in?

There would be plenty Ukrainians more than glad of them and willing to pay an affordable rent also once they'd get setup in jobs compared the dole lifers who will get it for €30/week and probably thrash the place after 3 weeks.

What would usually say about a buffer who refused a house because it doesn't have room for their dog?

And one begs the question why halting sites that were provided are no longer up to scratch? Because they are turned into no go areas...almost war zone like.

On another note....people shouldn't get social housing for almost free. A woman I know has a two bed house to herself for 25euro a week? Afaik she's getting social welfare and does the odd paid and registered work...so maybe 400 euros aweek. Surely she should be paying 100+ rent.

And families that are earning or not should be paying at least 1/3 of income in rent.

Tis a great country Ted.

But that said, these recipients are probably spending the welfare and earnings locally..so it mostly goes around..if you get me.

I’m not sure that you really understood equality. Are you saying that wheelchair users should just make do with houses with steps at the entrance, just so we can treat everyone equally?

My blood boiling on hearing about this outrageous carry on, I had my suspicions what was going on and it's now confirmed.

When is someone in government going to have the courage to say, enough.

What these people looking for🤔 Adjoining stables and grazing land, perhaps an area to park up mobile homes 🤔

I'll bite my lip before I get in trouble but this is just beggar's belief even apart from the housing waiting list and housing crisis generally, it's actually sickening,

So just to clarify, you understand the principle of sometimes needing to treat people differently to achieve equal outcomes?

Does he do Stable's , conversions or mobile home extensions 🤔 😏

No - I don't understand that idea. Treating people equally is all that is required. You propose to treat some more favourably than others. If that were the case across society, few would ever bother their arse to do anything as they would be guaranteed the same as their neighbour. Give me a society or civilisation that has ever managed to successfully organise itself on this basis across all strata in that society.

The thing about that graphic that's always struck me (I've seen it posted here before - possibly even by yourself) is that maybe the 3 lads should pay for their ticket and be inside the stadium rather than complaining about not being able to see/getting something for free

Any chance we could swap the "refusers" for a few Ukrainians?

So no ramps for wheelchair users then? They can just make do with houses with steps , because treating them equally is all that is required?

Why would you assume they didn’t pay and are not inside?

You seem to want to have a broad discussion around social housing, because the points you make have little to do with travellers. I’m no expert, but I guess that the general idea is that we don’t want to have loads of people living on the streets, as in major cities in the US. Apart from the ethical issues, there is also an economic issue, that such people end up costing more in the long term, with policing costs, prison costs, healthcare costs and more. Maybe you’d like to open a discussion on social housing in the appropriate forum, rather than dragging this thread off topic.

Off you go mate, there’s anything I can do sure let me know, but far as I’m concerned your personal circumstances are none of anyone else’s business.

Well no, it’s never going to be as simple as fcuk the traveller accommodation plan when Councils are eligible to draw down funding specifically to provide accommodation for travellers, separately from any funding provided by the Department of Housing for social housing. I had a look at the Wexford County Council Traveller Accommodation Plan (2019 - 2024), and there’s ne’er a mention of horses. Don’t just take my word for it though, you can read the plan for yourself, here -

https://www.wexfordcoco.ie/sites/default/files/content/Housing/DRAFT-Traveller-Accommodation-Programme-2019-2024.pdf

The hold-up appears to be for a couple of reasons, none of which appears to include horses (I’m told they’re lovely, but they frighten the shyte out of me tbh) -

'Admin' given as a common reason for underspend on Traveller-specific accommodation

Responses to Noteworthy FOI request by local authorities

Local Authority

WEXFORD

% Drawdown 2017-19

6%

Drawdown per Traveller 2017-Jul 21

€84.95

Targets Set?

4 families out of 100 in group housing

Why Allocation Not Spent?

Issues with planning, boundary disputes, construction delays, occupants refusing works

Expanded since 2017?

NO CHANGE

https://www.thejournal.ie/tough-start-pt-5b-traveller-housing-funding-5580319-Oct2021/

https://www.irishtimes.com/news/social-affairs/councils-could-face-sanctions-over-traveller-accommodation-budgets-1.3688827

The main issue for the delays in accommodating travellers, and I’m paraphrasing here, appears to be that local councillors are just a bit spineless. The funding is there for them to draw down, in order to develop their plans, but when it comes to implementing the plans, it’s the Councils who appear to have cold feet, not travellers.

In this particular case highlighted by the OP, and by way of answering your question as to what’s the hold-up, well there is no hold-up - Wexford County Council have received notice in writing, that the traveller families in question don’t want to move from their current accommodation into these spanky new houses, on what would only be a temporary basis. They’re effectively holding the Council to their obligation to provide suitable accommodation for travellers on a more permanent basis. It’s not as though the Council doesn’t have the funding available to them to do so, and moving the families into temporary accommodation appears to amount to nothing more than allowing the Council to kick the can down the road rather than addressing the issue on a more permanent basis. It would appear that local councillors who drew up the traveller accommodation plan are of the same mindset as your good self - ‘fcuk the traveller accommodation plan’.

That’s why it appears that the Council are trying the persuasion by ‘mediation’ route, because they are no doubt aware of a similar case which went all the way to the Supreme Court which overturned a decision to grant Clare County Council orders requiring members of the Irish Traveller Community to vacate lands they had been residing at for several years -

https://www.rte.ie/news/ireland/2022/0131/1276913-supreme-court-ihec/

If your concerns are motivated by concerns about the misuse and waste of public funds, it’s not travellers are to blame here, it’s the local authorities, and locally elected officials in particular who appear to be reluctant to get the finger out, and now their incompetence is coming back to bite them in the arse. Travellers may well be uneducated, but they’re not stupid, and in any case they enjoy the same protection from discrimination in Irish law as anyone else. I don’t think it’s unreasonable to expect that local councillors would be fully aware of that fact, but it appears they were banking on travellers not knowing it.

Why would you assume they didn’t pay and are not inside?

Why would you assume they didn’t pay and are not inside?