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Mayo County Council is coming under pressure from the Department of Environment to get the new social housing leasing scheme up and running, despite the protestations of both the council officials and members about the scheme.

Approval was given this week for a 20-year lease on the old Charlestown Health Clinic to Charlestown Community Childcare Ltd.

The members of the Ballina Electoral Area are to write to the new Minister of State for Housing, Willie Penrose, to express their concerns about the new income threshold for applicants for social housing. Paul Benson, senior executive officer for Mayo County Council, told the meeting that since March 1 new legislation had been brought in that had tied the hands of the council when it came to the allocation of social housing.

The incoming Government was urged to repeal the decision of outgoing Minister of State with responsibility for Housing, Michael Finneran TD to concentrate on leasing houses rather than construct them to fill the social housing needs in the country. The issue was flagged a number months ago that the Government wanted to enter into leasing schemes with developers rather have local authorities do their own construction. At a meeting of the Housing SPC of Mayo County Council, Mr Paul Benson from the council told the members: “We received a circular from the department in December which just copper fastens what we were being told for the past few months. The council is going to have no option but to enter into the leasing deals rather than start new construction projects.” He also told the meeting that the housing funding that would be made available to the council could be only 10 per cent of what it once was and that not many projects can be done with that. However, he went on to say that while this was the proposal at present legislation had to be brought in and that any new Government may decide to go a different way.

Mayo County Council outlined their housing programme for the coming year to the members of the Housing SPC this week. However, a lot of the planned work depends on the size of the grants received from central government. Most of the work that is planned is in refurbishment programs outlined for 14 different areas around the county. Cllr Eddie Staunton asked if refurbishment works were going to go ahead this year, to which he was told by Mr Paul Benson, for Mayo County Council: “It is a wish list, areas we have identified that works could be done. We have been in discussions with the department but it all depends on what funding comes down. Then we can set out a plan as to the estates and areas we will do. We do not want to get people’s hopes up and then let them down. It all depends on the funds we get.”

The Swinford Electoral Area is on par with its larger northern neighbour, Ballina, for the number of vacant newly built houses in estates, the elected members were told this week.

There have been only three different applications from private individuals to take part in the new social housing leasing initiative in the Ballina Electoral Area. Paul Benson, senior executive officer of Mayo County Council, told an electoral area meeting this week that “there have been three applications in Ballina to be part of the scheme, one for three houses, and two other applications consisting of two apartments each.”

Approval has been granted for €540,000 worth of housing grants in the Swinford Electoral Area.

A huge portion of the town of Kiltimagh will be sterilised for planning purposes if a decision by the Swinford electoral area committee made this week is ratified by the full meeting of Mayo County Council on Monday.

Mayo County Council revealed that they don’t have the funding to match the applications for grant funding under the new housing grants introduced this year.