The Galway City Council is being urged totreat as “urgent” projects which involve the provision of housing that was allocated funding under a Government regeneration scheme this week.
A total of €708,000 in funding, as part of the Urban Regeneration and Development Fund allocation to Galway, will support the initial development of three projects - regeneration of 11 acres of local authority land on Sandy Road; NUI Galway lands at Nuns Island; and lands near the city port.
Independent Galway West TD Noel Grealish is now calling on City Hall to “move quickly” and ‘facilitate the speedy development of the lands” as they “would involve the provision of a certain amount of housing”.
He said the sites are centrally located, adding: “We desperately need more houses to cater for the huge demand that is affecting so many young couples and families trying to get a place of their own. Everything that can be done must be done to get the blueprints for these developments completed and progressed to the building stage.”
Dep Grealish’s call follows his demand in September for the Government to scrap VAT for first time buyers, arguing that it could slash “almost €40,000 off the price of a new house in Galway”, and would be a positive move to help young couples secure a home.
“The way house prices are continually rising at present is making it more and more difficult for couples trying to buy a home,” he said. “In turn that increases the pressure of demand on the rental sector, where rents are also spiralling out of control. A cut of something like €40,000 in the price they would have to pay for a new house would certainly make it more achievable.”
