MINISTER OF State for Housing Michael Finneran has warned local authorities that he will “find another way” if they do not embrace the Government’s initiative to provide social housing in “ghost estates”.
Mr Finneran was speaking at the first-phase opening of a regenerated housing estate in Ballina, Co Mayo, which is scheduled to be completed by the end of next year.
The Clúid housing association, which develops and manages rented housing for people on low incomes and people with special needs, has begun transforming a ghettoised St Patrick’s Estate in Ballina into a 21st century development, refurbishing 23 homes initially.
Some 70 families in total will move into transformed houses which will have a building energy rating of A3.
The €13 million project has been funded by the Government after several delays, and has elicited a very positive response from residents.
“We didn’t know what a utility room was, we’ve never experienced radiators in every room, and we were used to living in damp conditions with rodents and water running down the walls,” St Patrick’s estate residents’ associate chairwoman Jean Brown said.
Ms Brown, a mother of six and grandmother of four, has lived on St Patrick’s estate for over 40 years.
Her existing home is condemned as a fire hazard, and she hopes to move into a transformed five-bedroom residence next Spring.
Doris Devers, a mother of three children aged between nine and 15-years-old, said it was like a “dream come true”.
Describing her previously cramped conditions, she said it led to “constant arguing” and conflict.
The project was 10 years in gestation, as one of several which Clúid has sponsored. The charity and non-profit organisation was aware that St Patrick’s was regarded as one of the worst social housing schemes in the State, with no community facilities and consequent vandalism.
“Ballina Town Council and Mayo County Council invited us in, and it took some time to convince the residents of our bona fides,” Clúid chief executive Brian O’Gorman explained.
“But there is no point embarking on a project like this without the residents’ support, which we now have, and the Government funding was crucial.”
Clúid believes the Government should prioritise regeneration in its approach to social housing provision, as it is “more cost-effective and sustainable, creates jobs in local communities and solves social problems that have sprung up in estates that have fallen into disrepair”.
The organisation notes that people tend to associate regeneration with major cities, but there are housing estates in smaller towns – like Ballina – which were built during the social housing boom in the 1960s and 1970s and which have since fallen into disrepair.
The deteriorating environment has had serious economic and social consequences for residents and entire communities, it says.
Mr Finneran paid tribute to Clúid for its work and for embracing the Government’s long-term leasing initiative, by which money is allocated to local authorities to provide social housing through leasing units in existing estates.
The Department of the Environment hopes that up to half of local authority housing programmes can be delivered under the initiative, and Mr Finneran took the chance to remind authorities that each county had between 3,000 and 4,000 houses currently lying idle.
Mr Finneran said he would “not leave houses empty” [on ghost estates] while “thousands of people are on the housing list”.
The Focus Ireland homeless charity has estimated that some 100,000 households are on local authority housing lists and up to 5,000 people are homeless.
The Department of Environment is setting up an expert group to identify solutions for the future of some 2,800 “ghost estates”.
