Roscommon County Council refurbished and re-let 44 vacant homes in the county as part of the Voids Stimulus Programme last year, which saw 3,607 vacant social houses across the country brought back into use.
The news was announced by Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage, Darragh O’Brien, who thanked the local authority for their efforts in 2020.
Minister O’Brien said: “There was also an added economic benefit with further employment generated for local Roscommon builders, carpenters, painters, plumbers, electricians and so on”.
Independent TD Denis Naughten said €379,500 was received from the Department of Housing last year.
“Credit is due to the team in Roscommon County Council which secured an allocation of funding well in excess of the proportion of local authority housing in the county, which will mean more houses can be refurbished.
“As part of my campaign to bring life back into more vacant houses, I’m hoping this year will see changes to the Fair Deal Nursing Home Support Scheme, which currently penalises older people who wish to rent out their vacant home,” he said.
Meanwhile, Fianna Fáil Senator Eugene Murphy welcomed the news, adding that a further 61 units had been brought back into use in Co. Galway.
“This will greatly address a shortage of homes for people on the housing list in counties Roscommon and Galway,” he said before claiming it was a return to the “core values” of his party in offering local authority houses to local people.
