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

Department of Environment admit concern over possibility of water contamination in Dundalk

A lorry containing almost 40,000 litres of fuel laundering waste which was abandoned along the N1 near Junction 20 Jonesborough/Carrickarnon yesterday

The Department of the Environment have admitted they are “concerned” by weekend media reports which suggest that the drinking water supply to Dundalk might be contaminated.

The statement, made by Minister of State Paudie Coffey on behalf of Minister Alan Kelly, comes following an article in The Sunday Independent which alleged that the town’s water supply was being poisoned by IRA fuel launderers, who were dumping cancer causing toxins into Lough Muckno, Lough Ross and the River Fane.

While the matter was debated at length by Louth County Council on Monday, it was also raised in the Dáil by local TDs Fergus O’Dowd and Seamus Kirk as well as Cavan/Monaghan-based deputies Sean Conlon and Brendan Smith.

In a reply to the TDs, Minister Coffey said: “I am taking this on behalf of Minister Alan Kelly, and like other Deputies I am concerned about media reports regarding an alleged pollution discharge.”

He said he was aware that Louth County Council were investigating the matter in conjunction with the Water Pollution Inspectorate in Northern Ireland before warning that anyone who was found guilty of polluting waters could be fined up to €15m, receive up to five years in prison on both.

He revealed that diesel laundering waste dumping had led to 596 clean-up operations in Louth since 2008, at a cost of approximately €4.8 million to the State.

Minister Coffey said talks were ongoing with the relevant authorities in Northern Ireland to “develop a mechanism for dealing with waste from cross-border diesel washings.”

He said it was important that there was full cross border support in stamping out the problem and added that Minister Kelly would be writing to Minister Mark Durkan in the north to highlight the problems being faced by border counties exposed to the consequences of what he described as “environmental crime”.

Meanwhile, Louth TD Gerry Adams has condemned the discovery of 40,000 litres of fuel sludge on the N1 north of Dundalk yesterday and said: “The only effective means of closing down this illegal activity is to end the differential between agricultural and non-agricultural diesel. The government needs to introduce in its place a system where farmers can reclaim a rebate on their fuel costs based on vouched expenditure”.

The Sinn Féin leader has also accused some Louth politicians of making irresponsible claims that drinking water has been polluted.

He said: “This assertion – especially given the assurances by the Director of Services in Louth County Council that the drinking water is safe can only serve to undermine the efforts of the Council to promote tourism and business in Dundalk and its hinterland and to undermine public confidence.”

Deputy Adams also accused the gangs involved in diesel laundering of “causing serious environmental and health problems, putting at risk legitimate business and jobs, as well as imposing significant financial costs on local councils and the tax payer.”

O’Dowd loses junior minister position

Fergus O’Dowd

Louth TD Fergus O’Dowd has this afternoon lost his position as a junior minister following a reshuffle by Taoiseach Enda Kenny.

The Drogheda man had held the position of Minister of State at the Department of Communications, Energy & Natural Resources and Environment, Community & Local Govt, with responsibility for the NewEra Project. However, that role has now been made largely defunct with Paudie Coffey taking up the post at the Department of the Environment and Joe McHugh in Communications

Both will have slightly differing responsibilities to that of their Fine Gael colleague though.

As revealed last week, fellow Louth TD Ged Nash of the Labour Party was confirmed in the super-junior role which sits at Cabinet and takes charge of issues relating to small business and collective bargaining.