Tag Archives: Housing Assistance Payment

€57,224,354 for local authority housing will reduce the Louth waiting list and create jobs, insists McGahon

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Cllr John McGahon

Cllr John McGahon

Fine Gael councillor for Dundalk-Carlingford, John McGahon has welcomed the allocation of €57,224,354 for local authority housing in Louth. This is part of a national allocation of funding by Minister of State at the Department of Environment, Community and Local Government, Paudie Coffey TD, as part of the Government’s €3.8 billion social housing strategy announced last November out to 2020.

Commenting on the allocation, Cllr McGahon said it would go a long way to reducing the housing list in the county.

He said: “In Louth, €57,224,354 has been allocated to the County Council for local authority housing. It is estimated that this funding will meet 20% of the housing need in Louth which will go a long way towards reducing the waiting list. This is not even including the Housing Assistance Payment which will help to further reduce demand on our housing waiting list.

“Along with all local authorities, Louth County Council was asked to bring forward the housing unit targets and specific building projects it has planned for now to 2017. As part of the strategy, targets had to be agreed with each local authority in 2015.

“In total across the country, over €1.5 billion will be invested in a combination of building, buying and leasing schemes by local authorities designed to accommodate 25% of those currently on the housing waiting lists in social housing. Approximately 300 separate building proposals by local authorities are currently being assessed by the Department of Environment and will be announced in a number of phases starting this month. Construction is already underway for social housing in approximately 33 sites throughout the country.

“In County Louth this funding will help to create and sustain approximately 458 number of jobs in the construction sector which was so badly affected by the economic crash of recent years. This is a really important part of the Government’s plan to spread job creation and economic recovery to all counties around Ireland so that everyone can feel the benefit.”