Four in five on Kilkenny's social housing list are Irish citizens
Kilkenny County Council figures reveal the nationality breakdown of 1,189 social housing applicants
New figures have revealed that 80% of applicants on Kilkenny's social housing waiting list are Irish citizens, following calls for greater transparency around the figures.
The data was presented to Kilkenny County Council following a request from Cllr Eugene McGuinness, and show that 951 of the 1,189 applicants on the social housing list at the beginning of October 2026 are Irish citizens.
A further 142 applicants, representing 11.9% of the total, are citizens of European Economic Area (EEA) countries, while 80 applicants (6.7%) are classified as non-EEA citizens. Just 16 applicants, or 1.3%, are UK citizens.
The figures were brought before councillors following a request from Cllr McGuinness, who told the latest plenary meeting that he and his fellow elected representatives "are tired of hearing about this".
He welcomed the transparency provided by the breakdown, saying there is "so much stuff being bandied about" in relation to the nationalities of those on the local authority's housing list.
Cllr Seán Ó hArgáin also acknowledged the level of public discussion surrounding the issue, describing it as "a bone of contention".
"People are asking questions. Some are asking for the right reasons and others for more sinister reasons," he told the meeting.
Of the 951 Irish citizens on the housing list, 749 were born in Ireland, while 63 were born outside the country. The place of birth of a further 139 Irish citizens was not recorded.