Carlow Cllr 'sceptical' of agreement regarding almost 50 new social homes

A Carlow Councillor has released a statement on Facebook saying he is “sceptical” of developers asking for more money once houses have been built.

Ben Ward issued an update on the Foran’s Way Housing Development in Tullow, which has initially been earmarked as a social housing development.

After being built by BHA Construction, it was announced that half would be sold privately instead, which many people were opposed to.

“Rising costs” were cited as the reason that homes were appearing for sale on the private market, leaving just 26 of the homes for social housing.

‘Obviously, we would like to provide all 48 for social use, but with construction cost increases, this became less viable and it was important to ensure some form of social delivery,’ Coilín O’Reilly, Carlow County Council Chief Executive, said.

A protest outside the development entrance was led by People Before Profit Councillor Adrienne Wallace.

That news has since been revoked, and it’s been announced that all 48 homes will now be social houses, however at a higher price per unit.

“I am glad a resolution has been found but I remain sceptical of developers breaking their agreements and asking for more money when the houses are built. This seems to be a growing trend throughout the country,” Cllr Ben Ward wrote on Facebook.

“In my opinion, a deal is a deal and if you are in business you have to take risks. The state can not always be the cash cow guaranteeing profits to developers,” he added.

Minister Jennifer Murnane O’Connor welcomed the news and said she expects that the allocation of the homes will be completed by the end of November.