Councillors in Ballina have expressed surprise that some offers for tenancy at the new Rehins Fort development have been refused.
Cllr Seamus Weir said he was surprised that any of the offers for the 50 units were rejected, adding that the unexpected turn of events was “really only good news for the next group of people on the housing list”.
There are currently 184 people on the social housing list in the Ballina Municipal District. Of these, 100 are seeking a one-bed house, 59 are seeking a two-bed, 23 are seeking a three-bed and two are seeking a four-bed, according to the latest figures presented to Ballina councillors by Director of Housing with Mayo County Council Tom Gilligan. Currently, the council has a total stock of 477 houses in Ballina Municipal District.
Mr Gilligan said a number of social housing projects are in the pipeline. Three-unit projects at Abbey Street and Church Manor are expected to be completed by the end of next year. By mid-2026, he expects the council to have delivered the recently announced Chesire Homes development comprising 66 units, the Duffy’s Bakery project with 34 units, the Churchfield Manor development with six units and the Meadows project with 15 units.
Cllr Jarlath Munnelly said that until the income threshold for social housing is amended again, there will still be a cohort of people who are earning too much to get on the social housing list but are unable to afford homes of their own. He proposed writing to the Minister for Housing to suggest that local authorities have individual control over their social housing thresholds.
Mr Gilligan added that the Minister for Housing is now “on board” with affordable housing schemes in Mayo and an application for such a scheme in Ballina is currently in the works with the council’s housing office.
In addition, Ballina currently has 103 sites on the Derelict Sites Register while 43 projects have been approved under the Vacant Homes Grant, Croí Conaithe, while 33 applications are in progress. Under the Defective Concrete Block Scheme, 237 applications have received Stage 1 approval in the Ballina area. Under Stage 2, 109 applications have been approved out of 114 received, while 11 houses have been completed.
