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Clare Councillors Renew Calls For Affordable Housing To Be Made Available Countywide

Local representatives in Clare say home ownership will not be a reality for many of this county’s residents until affordable housing is made available to all areas.

It comes as construction is set to get underway on an affordable housing development on Francis Street, Ennis in the coming weeks.

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With local elections fast approaching, councillors in this county are setting out their stalls for their chief priorities in 2024.

Housing is unsurprisingly an area of particular focus in many areas and calls have been made for affordable housing schemes to be made available throughout Clare’s towns and villages.

Cathaoirleach of the West Clare Municipal District and Kilrush Independent Councillor Ian Lynch believes people buying houses in his region should be assisted by the local authority.

Last October, Minister for Housing Darragh O’Brien revealed that the government is “open” to extending the schemes, which are currently only available in Shannon and Ennis, to all areas of this county.

Minister O’Brien’s Fianna Fáil colleague Maghera Councillor Pat Hayes insists that in addition to the existing schemes in place, the government must implement new systems to streamline the home building and purchasing processes.

You can listen to the full interview here:

Turning to Shannon, continuing to confront anti-social behaviour and petty criminality has been highlighted as an area of importance for the coming year.

A special meeting was held last April to discuss reports of broken windows, verbal abuse, stones being thrown at properties and cars set on fire in the Brú na Sionna apartment complex.

While these issues are said to have died down to a significant degree, Cathaoirleach of the Shannon Municipal District and Sinn Féin Councillor Donna McGettigan says co-operation between the council, Gardaí and the property management company will be key to stamping them out once and for all.

Looking at the county town, the proposed construction of a multi-storey mixed-use development on the site of the Abbey Street car park has been hotly contested since the announcement of the project under the Ennis 2040 plan.

Although the designated activity company’s director has stated that extensive public consultation will take place before any works begin, doubts remain with some over the logic behind the development.

Mayor of Ennis and Fianna Fáil veteran Pat Daly is of the opinion that there are other sites better-suited to such a building.

You can listen to the full interview here:

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