Kilkenny Council approves plan to provide housing for 66 local Traveller families
By SHANE DORAN
MORE than 60 local Traveller families will be provided with housing after Kilkenny County Council approved a new accommodation programme.
Councillors formally adopted the programme at the September meeting of the county council.
A council spokesperson said the new programme would meet the housing needs of the local travelling community “over the period 2019 to 2024”.
They added: “During the period 2014 to 2019, 90 Traveller families have been provided with accommodation solutions and this plan sets out the targeted delivery of a further 66 housing solutions for the period to 2024.
“The Programme reflects Kilkenny County Council’s commitment to adopting pro-active, inclusive and flexible approaches to meeting the challenge of providing accommodation for those in need of homes and providing support to those who can contribute to the provision of their own accommodation.”
The Mayor of Kilkenny, Cllr Martin Brett, welcomed the new programme and reaffirmed the council’s commitment to delivering “appropriate housing solutions in Kilkenny to our traveller population”.
However, he also pointed out that the provision of good quality housing “brings with it a responsibility on all local authority tenants to maintain those valuable homes and to help build sustainable communities”.