Government estimates of social housing requirements in rural areas may be significantly too low, according to research for Teagasc, the agricultural and food development authority.
Lack of awareness about new schemes such as affordable housing and shared ownership and a reluctance to apply for local authority provision may be contributing to an almost "invisible" need in some rural areas, Kevin Heanue of Teagasc's rural economy research centre in Athenry, Co Galway, has found.
A study he undertook in northwest Connemara uncovered a far greater number of cases requiring social housing and sheltered housing provision than officially estimated - by a factor of six. Consequently, planning for and finance to support social housing provision are too low, he argues.
Social housing consists of rental accommodation built with State subsidy, where allocation of accommodation is linked to social need and where the landlord has non-profit status or is a State agency.
In Ireland, social housing is provided by local authorities, and by voluntary or non-profit associations and co-operative organisations.
As Mr Heanue points out in a recent paper for Administration, the journal of the Institute of Public Administration, most social housing in Ireland has traditionally been, and still is, predominantly provided by local authorities. Voluntary housing agencies, the major providers of social housing in many European countries, began to be involved in a significant way here only in the 1990s.
The last National Development Plan (NDP) set a target of 35,000 additional social housing units or 5,000 units annually to be provided over the period 2000-2006.
Yet "social housing in Ireland remains a residual housing sector, and is unusual in a European context in that it serves a relatively small proportion of the population," he said.
Mr Heanue combined both primary and secondary data sources for his research in northwest Connemara, initiated four years ago. Excluding the town of Clifden, the region has a highly dispersed population of 7,682 persons in 2,478 households, and is classified as "severely disadvantaged".
The research drew on aggregate data from the Co Galway Housing Strategy 2001-2006 on social housing demand, and information from Galway County Council. Primary research comprised data from the former Western Health Board (now HSE West) on the number and characteristics of people receiving rent supplement payments, and data on a confidential basis from several public health nurses.
A negative perception of small-town local authority housing estates which conflict with traditional dispersed settlement in rural areas and lack of awareness about new housing schemes were factors identified in the findings.
A large number of rent supplement recipients may also reflect a preference to remain in the private rented sector - and the expansion of this sector as a form of low-income housing requires more research, Mr Heanue said.