FINE Gael councillor Dan McSweeney urged Limerick Council to further examine making some of the 24 housing units at Barnakyle, Patrickswell, available under the Affordable Purchase Scheme.
The development was granted Part 8 planning permission in late 2022 for a mix of private rightsizing and incremental sale for working households in private rented accommodation availing of social housing supports.
Speaking at the recent Metropolitan District meeting, Cllr McSweeney moved that, when approving the Part 8 planning application, a request was made by elected members that half the units be made available for the Affordable Purchase Scheme.
In response to his motion, the Council explained that the Affordable Housing Team carried out an examination to determine if the scheme was viable for such a proposal and found that, “at this time, the scheme does not meet the eligibility criteria for the Affordable Housing Fund to meet a minimum of 15 per cent affordability gain”.
Cllr McSweeney urged the Council to further examine the scheme’s costings with the possibility of offsetting some costs for abnormalities and towards infrastructure that will not only enable the delivery of these homes but also open a large land bank for housing that has already secured planning.
“For years Patrickswell had seen no housing delivery, and now with a significant number of new homes being constructed but many local people simply cannot afford to stay in their own community. It is deeply frustrating to see families and young people forced to move away because homes are simply not affordable,” Cllr McSweeney insisted.