Fifteen new local authority homes are to be built in the city following an allocation of €2.5 million to the Galway City Council.
This week, the Government allocated €2.9 million to Galway - €2.5 million to the Galway City Council and €400,000 to Galway County Council - under the Local Authority Construction Initiative and the money will go towards the construction of social housing units.
However the allocation has not been without controversy. Fine Gael Galway West TD Seán Kyne, although welcoming the allocation, alleged that City Hall has still not submitted proposals for social housing projects and how the money is to be spent.
When contacted by the Galway Advertiser, a spokesperson for the council, said the TD was incorrect and that the money is to be spent on the construction of the 15 units for the city.
The spokesperson pointed out that in 2013, City Hall, along with other local authorities in the State, was asked to “submit a list of prioritised proposals for inclusion in a new social housing construction programme” which would “address acute housing need in areas with high demand”.
The council submitted its proposal for the construction of 15 units and the money was allocated this week. Labour Galway City East candidate Monica Coughlan has welcomed the funding.
“While previous announcements in the past few years have been targeted at special housing needs, such as the elderly or people with a disability,” she said, “this funding is the first new programme of mainstream local authority construction since the recession struck.”
