A proposal by Mayo County Council to construct a retail/commercial unit and three dwellings for older people at Church Road, Belmullet, was given a very positive welcome at the Belmullet Electoral Area meeting this week.
One of the issues highlighted by senior staff officer for Mayo County Council, Padraig Brogan, was the lack of access to services such as the doctor and other social outlets by the elderly.
“With that in mind we looked at doing a project like this which will be for older people. The dwellings will be two bed developments so it will be suitable for an older person and a carer for example. It will be in a town centre and the units will be kept in council ownership, so that we can have them in continuous use.”
Fine Gael councillor Gerry Coyle said: “This is a wonderful idea, there are any number of people who would be looking to get accommodated in a development like this.”
Sinn Féin councillor Rose Conway Walsh, welcomed the idea but questioned where the funding would come from. “We would be making an application to the department,” Mr Brogan told her. “They have been cutting funding and looking to get the leasing scheme going, but this is a special case project and there may be funding available for it from the department.”
