Pictured at the turning of the sod on a new 30-unit social housing development at Clifden, County Galway (left to right) Cllr. Ollie Turner, Leas-Cathaoirleach of Galway County Council, Cllr. Eileen Mannion, and Cllr. Gerry King, Leas-Cathaoirleach of Connemara Municipal District. Photo Sean Mannion.
SOD has been turned on a new social housing development in Clifden, which will provide 30 new energy efficient homes to West Galway.
Elected Members, representatives of the contractor McRoy Limited and senior housing officials from Galway County Council gathered at the site of the development on the Westport Road for the ceremony.
The state-of-the-art turnkey development is scheduled for completion in the first quarter of 2026 and will comprise 1, 2 and 3-bedroomed homes. The local authority scheme is the second to be developed in Clifden recently following the completion of the Gort na Greine and Ard Aoibhinn apartment development at Gort na gCloch, which was the subject of an open viewing for the local community on Friday.
Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage, Darragh O’Brien (FF) said, “Today’s launch of 30 new social homes is most welcome. This development will provide secure, high-quality homes which will make a real difference in the lives of families and individuals. This is Housing for All at work on the ground. It is thanks to the excellent work of local authorities such as Galway County Council that we are now delivering more social homes than we have in decades”.
Cllr Ollie Turner (FG), Leas Cathaoirleach of the County of Galway commented, “Increasing our social housing stock is of critical importance to the future sustainability of our rural communities. I look forward to the completion of this and other schemes which will provide much needed homes for people in rural towns and villages across County Galway”.
According to Cllr Gerry King (FF), Leas Cathaoirleach of the Connemara Municipal District, “This new social housing development is very much welcomed by the nine Elected Members of the Municipal District of Connemara and those who live in this largely rural district. The delivery of these new homes will enable families and individuals to become valuable members of the community where they will help sustain the town’s schools, businesses, clubs and local services”.
Liam Conneally, Chief Executive of Galway County Council said, “With the support of Elected Members and the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage under ‘Housing for All’, Galway County Council has embarked on an ambitious programme of social housing construction with developments planned for Athenry, Portumna, Ardrahan, Ballinasloe, Loughrea and Tuam, while other schemes have recently been completed in Glenamaddy and Clifden”.
“The staff of the Housing section are working hard to increase the amount of social housing construction delivered by the Local Authority and we hope to be able to announce new schemes under the Government’s Social Housing Investment Programme in the near future,” added Mr. Conneally.
