Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage, Darragh O’Brien was in Galway on Tuesday to visit construction sites in Galway comprising 184 new social homes being delivered by approved housing body Respond, in partnership with Galway City Council.
The homes have been funded by a combination of private finance from the Housing Finance Agency and a loan from the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage. Respond currently have 1,404 homes in construction across Ireland.
Minister Darragh O’Brien visited the first site at Gaelcarrig which comprises 83 homes (24 new social homes on the Circular Road in Galway with an adjacent site of 59 homes ). He later visited another Respond site in Ballybane which comprises 101 homes.
This brings the total number of homes under construction by Respond in the Galway City area to 184 social homes. The homes are a mixture of apartments, duplex apartments, bungalows, semi-detached and terraced homes.
The new developments will feature playgrounds, a basketball play area and at the Ballybane site EV Charging Points. All the homes have A2 BER ratings.
Respond currently has 184 homes in construction across Galway and 826 tenants living in 374 Respond homes across Galway city and county.
Niamh Randall, spokesperson for Respond, said that Respond looks forward to the 184 social homes being completed over the next few months and welcomes support from Government partners which are essential to the work of Respond in delivering much needed homes for families and children who need them.
“We were delighted to welcome the Minister for Housing, Heritage and Local Government, Darragh O’Brien, TD to some of our developments in Galway.
“We are pleased to continue working collaboratively with the Government to deliver social and affordable homes for households in need.
“These new developments represent 184 new social housing homes for 184 families and individuals who can create their homes and become part of a community here and we hope they will be very happy.
These developments are only possible with the ongoing co-operation of our partners. We would like to thank Galway City Council, the Department of Housing, Heritage and Local Government and the Housing Finance Agency.
“We are delighted to continue working with our partners to achieve shared goals and we remain committed to playing our part building homes throughout the country and providing services for families and individuals who are in need.
“Over 90% of Respond’s delivery is newly constructed homes. Over the last 40 years, we have amassed considerable experience in managing the construction process and our in-house design team has wide ranging expertise in all aspects of housing delivery,” she concluded.
Respond, an Approved Housing Body and service provider, has been working all around Ireland for 40 years. Our vision is that every family and individual in Ireland will have high?quality housing as part of a vibrant and caring community. Housing and decent accommodation, in the areas where people want to live, are central to improving people’s lives and enhancing the health and well?being of society.
Approximately 14,144 tenants live in 6,443 homes across the 26 counties that they either own or manage. Respond also provide a range of services for families and individuals within our communities. This includes emergency accommodation with 24/7 support for families who are homeless in six Family Homeless Services, three Day Care Services for Older People, 17 Early Learning and School Aged Care services, Family Support and Refugee Resettlement services. Its aim is to provide person centred services to support people to achieve their goals and reach their full potential.
