Housing in Mayo discussed at special meeting today

A SPECIAL meeting to discuss housing strategy in Mayo was held this afternoon (Friday).

Affordable housing is a key concern of councillors in the county who want to see the issue addressed for those people who fall between the cracks - too well off for social housing, too poor to buy.

In his town - Westport - Councillor Christy Hyland said local employers are feeling the impact, with one company having job offers rejected as potential employees could not find anywhere to live.

More houses could be freed up in the town, he suggested, if capital gains tax was addressed on sales of holiday homes built with tax breaks in the 1990s.

Currently, those property sales would be hit with a 33% tax bill. He suggested there should be some relief given if they were sold to first time buyers.

Addressing town centre dereliction to bring people back into Mayo's town and villages was touched on by numerous members of Mayo County Council at the online meeting.

The authority has 78 such units with the department for funding and is pursuing a number of other site investigations.

The delivery of social and affordable units in Mayo under Part V - where 10% of private developments are given to the council - was described as 'shameful' by Councillor Peter Flynn, with just 11 units provided in the last six years.

Part V allocations are set to be increased, with 10% social and 10% for affordable housing.

Issues concerning the labour market within the construction industry itself were highlighted by Councillor Damien Ryan, with Councillor Donna Sheridan, who works with the education and training board, stressing the importance of apprenticeships, with huge employment opportunities in the trades.

The whole question of what is 'affordable' was touched on by Councillor Gerry Coyle. He had made enquiries and you could not build any house for less than €200,000. “That is the problem,” he said.