Mayo Council rejects IPAS rumours after Ballina fire destroys planned social housing scheme
Mayo County Council has expressed its profound disappointment following the fire that occurred on the night of Monday July 21 in Ballina at a site earmarked for social housing.
In a statement released this morning, the council confirmed that the site was going to provide “much needed additional social housing” in the town.
They categorically stated that the property was only ever intended to provide houses for people who are on the Mayo County Council Social Housing list.
This statement puts to bed any rumours that were floating around social media assuming the buildings were going to be developed into an IPAS centre. This has not been part of any of the development plans.
Photo showing the inside damage caused by the fire. Structural assessments will be carried out.
The statement read: “At their July meeting held last week, the elected members of the Ballina Municipal District approved the development of the scheme which would have provided 31 new homes to families and persons on the housing list. At present there are 631 people on the housing list in the Ballina Municipal District.”
“The Housing Section of Mayo County Council are now assessing the impact of the destruction of the fire and will begin working on a timeframe for the feasibility of delivering on the recently approved 31-unit housing scheme and providing much needed homes for those on the social housing list.”
The council expressed their thanks to the Mayo Fire Service and other emergency services for their fast response to the fire, which was brought under control and damage was kept to a minimum.
At the moment, traffic management remains in place until all structural assessments have been completed on the buildings.
Close up photo showing the extent of the damage caused by the fire.
The circumstances surrounding the cause of the fire are currently being investigated by An Garda Siochana, who stated that no injuries had been reported.
Speaking to the Irish Independent, Senator Mark Duffy thanked the emergency services for their work and noted how the spread of disinformation online can have fatal consequences.
“The fire that has destroyed buildings earmarked for a state of the art social housing project is extremely disappointing,
“Thanks to the fast response of emergency services, the fire was brought under control in the early hours of the morning. Given it’s a town centre property with residents living along the terrace meant it could have been much worse,
“Seeing the misinformation and disinformation online is an insight into the anarchists who are purposely undermining public confidence in any project through disinformation like this. A lie was circulated around the country before the fire was extinguished,
“There is no discounting the challenges facing immigration in Ireland currently, but the amount of disinformation that is constantly spread can have fatal consequences and people must be more mindful of this.”
A Ballina resident who lives close to Kevin Barry Street, spoke to the Irish Independent and said:
"That site was privately owned until around two or three years ago. A private entity put in planning permission for 41 units and suitable parking provided. This application was declined on the grounds that the development was putting too much in one area,
"Then the council put in for a part eight for 31 units and only seven parking spaces. After it was approved last week social media took off as the planning wasn't providing parking spaces it made it look like an IPAS centre,” he said.
The council anticipated that many of the apartments would be taken up by elderly residents who would not likely be driving, so parking would not be a necessity. In the Ballina Municipal District meeting held last week, it was also said that by not providing additional parking, people would be encouraged to use their vehicles less.
The source continued: “The site would not be suitable for elderly residents, the buildings had no lift facilities, no outside parking space for emergencies requiring an ambulance, and no parking spaces for any carers that would need to get in and out of the apartments,
"I have spoken to councillors who assured me that it was not going to be turned into an IPAS centre, I believe them. However, my feelings on why the building was attacked are due to the fact that there was a number of apartments going to be built without providing the proper facilities for them. It fed into the agenda portrayed on social media. Looking at the planning online, people saw a part eight approval for 31 units and no parking facilities, and thought it looked like an IPAS centre.”
This article has been funded by the Local Democracy Reporting Scheme.