People Before Profit TD for Dublin Midwest, Gino Kenny, has voiced his anger and frustration over the high cost of so-called ‘affordable’ housing in Kilcarbery, Clondalkin.
Homes at Kilcarbery Grange, built on land that was originally owned by South Dublin County Council and sold to a private developer, are being offered at prices far beyond the reach of ordinary working people. “It is outrageous that these homes, which are being marketed as affordable, are still priced at nearly €300,000. This is not what affordable housing should look like. The people in our community deserve better,” Kenny stated.
Kenny criticized the sale of council-owned land to private developers, a decision People Before Profit firmly opposed. “We voted against the sale of this land because we wanted 100% social and genuinely affordable housing on the site. Instead, public land has been handed over to private interests, who are now selling homes at prices that most families simply cannot afford,” he said. “This is a betrayal of the people who need housing the most and flies in the face of our vision for sustainable, equitable housing development.”
South Dublin County Council has released details of five 3-bedroom duplexes and one mid-terrace house being made available for purchase under their affordable housing scheme. Prices for the homes, which are reduced from their market value, still range between €286,940 and €306,940, with the council setting household income limits between €69,221 and €73,046. “Even with these reductions, these homes are unattainable for many in our community. This is a failed approach to housing, and it’s time we put public land to public use,” Kenny concluded.
