€304,000 allocated to Kerry social housing – Griffin

Fine Gael Kerry TD, Brendan Griffin, has today (Tuesday), welcomed the announcement by the Minister for Housing and Planning, that 22 vacant Kerry homes are to be brought back into use within twelve months.

“€304,000 is to be spent to upgrade 22 vacant properties in Kerry. On average €13,818 will be spent on each. These houses, which up until now have been boarded up and unused, will be refurbished and improved, making them into much needed family homes.

“A shortage of social housing is a real problem in Kerry with hundreds of people who are in real need on waiting lists. It is really important that we make sure all local authority units are fit for purpose and it makes sense that local authority homes that have been left vacant are brought into use.

“€304,000 is a very significant figure and it will go a long way in getting families into new homes as soon as possible. In addition, this investment will help to sustain and create construction jobs locally.

“Boarded up houses, as well as being a complete waste of resources, are unsightly and often a target for anti-social behaviour. I am very pleased that this money will make these homes available and I believe it is particularly positive that this will happen within twelve months.

“Providing social housing is a priority for the Government and the funding announced today is part of a year-long campaign that will see €30 million invested. In April 2014 €15 million was allocated to kickstart the refurbishment of vacant local authority houses and today a further €15 million has been allocated.”