A list of reasons for turning down social housing suggests that size is a major factor.
The Irish Examiner claims social welfare applicants in Cork mainly refuse homes because they aren't big enough, or have small gardens. Parking spaces are also seen as a necessity.
However the local Council claims that some houses have been turned down for 'spurious' reasons, including one woman who refused to live in a property over looking the harbour for fear of being sea-sick.
Sean O’Riordan is the Senior Reporter with The Irish Examiner who broke the story, stated that "a lot of these excuses, they believe they're just made up because they think they don't want to go to those particular areas.
"What you have is a scenario where an applicant has to specify three areas of choice. Now, one area might be their top choice, but if they're offered number three, it might be a couple of miles away and the the kids would need to be uprooted."
When asked for more examples of these 'spurious' reasons, O'Riordan highlighted the case of "one woman who went to see a brand new house in North Cork [...] heard a dog barking next door, which she wasn't particularly happy about, but then she saw some dust inside [...] and she said 'no, I'm not having that'."
