Council housing plans for Roscrea

Tipperary Co Council is progressing plans for 49 new dwellings in Roscrea as the housing programme emphasis swings back towards construction.

The March meeting of the council's Thurles Municipal District heard that 40 units are planned for Glencarick with another nine at Grove St. With 240 approved applicants for council housing in Roscrea - and over 900 across the district - councillors at the meeting agreed that that the local housing crisis is getting worse.

Cllr Michael Smith said he had never seen the situation so bad in his time on the council. He welcomed the progress with the Glencarrick scheme, which has been at the planning stage for some time now, and hoped there would be a suitable mix of accommodation types provided to meet the local need.

Cllr Shane Lee said that of the Roscrea applicants on the council's list, over 60 families are seeking three-bedroom accommodation. There would have to be a range of one, two and four-bedroom options provided for the remainder, he said.

Cllr Noel Coonan wanted the council to provide one-off houses in rural areas as well. He spoke of people in Gortagarry, Knock and Killea looking for such accommodation.

Executive Engineer Kieran Malone said the council tries to ensure a sufficient mix in each development. Generally demand centres on two and three-bedroomed dwellings. Mr Malone said the council is in regular contact with the Department of Housing and would get back to construction as soon as the national restrictions are relaxed. The Glencarrick scheme is at preliminary design stage and will be subject to public consultation following Departmental approval.

Administrative Officer Jim Dillon said the Department has asked the local authority to concentrate its efforts on housing construction as opposed to purchasing.