Additional €10m added to Galway’s ‘fundamentally flawed’ affordable housing scheme fund
A €35 million loan has been approved for Galway County Council to deliver almost 400 affordable homes across Galway, although councillors have warned it will do little to address the underlying affordability of housing.
Elected members were asked at the May plenary meeting to approve an additional €10 million on top of an existing non-mortgage loan, to account for inflation and provide “wiggle room” for projected costs, according to Director of Services Damien Mitchell.
The original €25 million loan was approved in November 2024.
While councillors welcomed the increased funding for what is understood to cover 11 projects across County Galway, several raised concerns about the balance between affordable, social and cost-rental housing.
“What do you call affordable housing? There is no such thing,” said Councillor Declan Geraghty.
Councillor Karey McHugh Farag described the scheme as “fundamentally flawed”, arguing that rising house prices and stagnant wages are making affordability increasingly unattainable.
Some members also called for the Government to review the structure of the scheme and update subsidy levels to reflect current economic conditions.
“The Department doesn’t have the vision to do this,” Councillor Thomas Welby said.
The average home under the Affordable Housing scheme in Galway is currently priced in the mid-€300,000 range. However, based on salary averages from 2024 CSO data and loan-to-income limits, the average earner can afford a €176,000 home.
Despite the criticism, a number of projects remain on the priority list, including 70 homes at Station Road in Oughterard and a three-phase development at Cosmona in Loughrea, which will deliver 112 units.
Not represented in the project list availing of this funding was Ballinasloe as Councillor Dermot Connolly told the chamber that his area is “bringing up the rear” once again.
Repeat issues that have been left unaddressed has caused Ballinasloe councillors to feel their constituency is getting left behind.
In recent events, Ballinasloe councillors sought a clear explanation from ESB representatives over power outage surges through the winter time through the northern rural area. Cllr Geraghty said the lack of attention to rural homes amounted to the “hollowing out of rural Ireland.”
The additional funding was approved by the chamber, bringing the total loan package to €35 million.
This article was amended on June 2 to correct the name of the local authority in the first paragraph.