Marc Ó Cathasaigh (Waterford, Green Party) | Oireachtas source

I am glad I came to the Chamber early as the Minister of State might have been lonely on his own in here. I want to bring the Minister of State to Ardmore in west Waterford. It is the place where Waterford derives the moniker of being the Déise. It is where St. Declan - a native of Drumroe near Cappoquin, just up the road - brought Christianity to Ireland before St. Patrick ever did, and converted the Déise tribe. That is where the name comes from. We have a round tower, which is visible for miles around. It is 98 ft. tall. I think they kept it under 100 ft. for planning permission but I cannot confirm that.

The population of Ardmore in 2020 was 486 and in 2002 it was 459. Over a period of time when Ireland's population grew by some 30%, the population of Ardmore grew by less than 2%. Why is that? It is not because Ardmore is not a beautiful place to live; it is quite the opposite. Ardmore is a victim of its own attractions. The few houses that are coming on the market are simply unaffordable to local people who are trying to start families. Looking at the property price register, some of the prices are eye-watering. Houses on Chapel Row are going for well over €500,000 and some of the properties are approaching seven figures. These are unachievable prices for people who are starting out and that is only for the handful of properties that come onto the market each year. The people in the area, in the school or the GAA club, will say that the children who are arriving are arriving from the surrounding areas but not from the village. That is because there are few families in the village. There are holiday homes, second properties and short-term lets but there are few houses for families that want to return to the village.

There have been positive developments in recent years. In 2020, Ardmore received €168,000 through the water services infrastructure resolution programme. That solved the headroom issue with water supply and we thought we were well under way with that.

Residents' representatives were engaging with an approved housing body to develop affordable housing. That project has since foundered, with the Department saying that the gap between the proposed build costs and affordability thresholds being too big for the Department to fill. I acknowledge that the site we are talking about is challenging but it means we are kicked back to the drawing board. Waterford City and County Council is looking to step into the breach, which is a positive move. Just yesterday it opened expressions of interest for an affordable housing scheme in Ardmore, which remains open until 31 December. I encourage everybody who has an interest to make a submission. I expect a deluge of submissions because there are so many people who want to move back to Ardmore.

The community has been this far down the road before so I am asking what comfort we can give the people that this time we will get this affordable scheme over the line? What are we going to do to give that opportunity to the next generation of people who want to live in Ardmore and who want to start a family? There is a broader question I want to put because I could make the same argument about An Rinn, which is the neighbouring parish; Bunmahon in the mid-county; or Dunmore East over towards the east of the county. These are all places in Waterford where supply is constrained and where market prices are through the roof, precisely because the quality of life that is offered in those towns makes them stand-out options. Are we doing enough in coastal communities in particular, be they in Waterford, Galway or the Minister of State's county of Mayo, to close the affordability gap? Are we doing enough to ensure that the next generation of people who call places like Ardmore, Dunmore East and wherever else home, get the opportunity to raise their families there into the next generation?

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