Eoghan Murphy (Dublin Bay South, Fine Gael)
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In accordance with the requirements in the Local Government Act 2001, Clare County Council sought sanction to borrow €6m to purchase 10 sites across the county for housing development in June 2019. When reviewing requests such as this, my Department is required to consider the borrowing capacity for the local goverment sector, the overall priorities of Government in terms of infrastructure, regional development and local development, as well as the alignment of local authority proposals with national and local policies and plans. Of the 10 sites that formed part of the request, sanction to borrow €3m was approved.

The National Planning Framework prioritises public investment in substantial new housing development into towns and villages, where citizens can access existing local education facilties, employment opportunities, healthcare, transport and other local services. Approved borrowing sanctions, as indicated above, have been for housing projects in such existing towns and villages in County Clare. My Department’s Serviced Sites Fund, supporting the development of publically owned sites for affordable housing development, similarly concentrates on established city and town areas where such existing local services and infrastructure are currently available.

The Meelick site is situated within a small residential area that is isolated from such necessary local services and has severely limited public transport. The current Clare County Development Plan also indicates that the site in question is unserviced and there is no indication or commitment that the required services for development are to be provided by Irish Water to facilitate the housing development proposed by Clare County Council. Furthermore, the local authority's Core Strategy Population Target for Ballycannon North (Meelick) indicates a target increase in population of 124 Persons (45 Households) only, from 2011-2023. It is not clear whether or not the current population may have already reached this target. The scale of the proposed development, at approximately 70 housing units, is inconsistent with Departmental guidelines on Sustainable Communities, which seek to provide social housing development of a scale proportionate to the size and demand in the existing local population.

Given the very limited access to facilities, Clare County Council would be required to demonstrate that no other more suitable, better located sites are available within other large villages in the county. The Council would also have to demonstrate a high demand for the location in question by way of approved social housing applicants who have expressed a specific preference for Ballycannon North (Meelick).

It was for these reasons that this part of the loan application has not been sanctioned.