Kilkenny promised €1.7m to build affordable homes

BY COLIN BARTLEY

KILKENNY has been awarded €1.7 million for the construction of affordable homes in the city.

The money will go towards building 26 houses at Crokers Hill, Kennyswell Road.

The money is part of the Serviced Sites Fund which allocated funding to 25 projects nationwide in areas where housing is in high demand. Kilkenny County Council is expected to provide €200,000 euros to complete the project at Crokers Hill.

The Department of Housing made €84 million available to construct 1,700 affordable homes around the country.

Announcing the funding, Housing Minister Eoghan Murphy said: “We’ve seen recently that house prices have been cooling down, even falling in some parts of the country as supply increases. But for too many people homeownership still remains out of reach.

“Unless the government steps in to bridge the gap, young couples and workers may not be able to afford to buy their own home in our cities and large towns. That’s why we are using local authority land to build more affordable homes for young workers and couples, and that’s why these approvals announced today are so important.

“The market will not fix our housing problems alone, the government must lead on providing more affordable homes.”