Government €1.4m grant puts dent in housing waiting list

Eighty-one derelict homes in the county will be restored to help clear the housing waiting list, which stands at 3,600 households.

A grant of €1.4 million has been awarded to Galway County Council to restore 81 derelict homes to a habitable state.

Some 55 housing units across the county have been approved for the local authority’s ‘voids and derelicts’ housing programme. A further 26 units are being assessed, and funding has been secured.

Meanwhile, in the city, where the housing shortage is more acute with around 5,000 households – or 15,000 people – on the waiting list, some 22 derelict homes will be returned to use.

An allocation of just over €300,000 has been granted to Galway City Council to upgrade the homes. Some of the homes have been derelict for a year or more. The total allocation of funding to bring vacant Council houses back into use in Galway is €1.7 million.

Gaeltacht Minister and Galway West TD Sean Kyne welcomed the money which he said would directly help to meet the high demand for housing in the city and county. The Fine Gael Deputy said it was a ‘key part’ of Housing Minister Simon Coveney’s ‘Rebuilding Ireland’ housing plan.

“In addition, the Housing Agency is also being provided with €70 million of capital funding to engage with banks and investment companies to acquire properties for social housing nationally, which will deliver 1,600 units over the period to 2020,” he said.

“A new Buy and Renew initiative will also be available to support Galway City and County Councils and approved housing bodies to purchase private housing units in need of remediation, renew them and make them available for social housing use.  An initial capital provision of €25 million will be available for this initiative next year.

“These funding allocations and new initiatives are directly assisting Galway’s local authorities to meet the demand for housing across our city and county,” added the Junior Minister.