Plan for 800 social housing units

Almost 800 social and voluntary housing units will come on stream over the next two years thanks to a €100m funding package announced yesterday.

It will also help fund the construction of a major step-down facility in Cork City to support people with addiction in the early stages of recovery.

The Fellowship House project in Togher will be one of the largest of its kind in the country which has been described as a template for the rest of the country.

Minister for Housing Jan O’Sullivan gave the green light to a raft of targeted projects, most of which are aimed to tackle long-term homelessness.

The permanent housing units will be delivered between now and 2014. Most of them will provide accommodation for people with special housing needs, including the elderly, homeless people, and people with a disability.

“Everyone knows that Government finances are very restricted,” said Ms O’Sullivan.

“I am determined that the much reduced capital budget available is targeted at those most in need.”

Some €35m is earmarked for the voluntary housing sector for the provision of 377 housing units across 30 local authorities.

They will be allocated by a combination of the voluntary housing bodies, the HSE, and local authorities.

A total of €65m will be allocated to local authorities for the purchase of about 246 houses and the construction of a further 185 houses, largely to meet special housing need.

Ms O’Sullivan said there are certain gaps that can be best filled through targeted purchases of built properties or the construction of new ones to meet the specific accommodation needs of certain categories of tenants.

Most of these construction projects will be “infill” developments, she said.

Labour TD Ciaran Lynch welcomed the announcements for Cork, in which the county has been allocated €4.8m as capital assistance funding for 33 housing units, and just over €3.2m set aside for 20 local authority social housing units.

In Cork City, 31 new units will be provided at Fellowship House in Togher, which was set up in 2002 to support people with addiction in the early stages of recovery.

“Addicts face an extremely daunting and potentially devastating period when they exit a treatment programme, often with no support,” said Fine Gael TD Jerry Buttimer.

“This Fellowship House project will be a flagship project for Munster and should act as a template for the rest of the country.”

New units will also be provided for Ringaskiddy Special Needs, and the Infill Project in Cork City.