€8m funding allocated for Westmeath's first cost rental development

Almost €8m in funding has been approved for Mullingar and Westmeath's first cost rental development in Westmeath.

Minister for Housing Darragh O'Brien has allocated €7.8m under the government's Affordable Housing Fund for Tuath to provide 46 cost rental homes in the new Farranshock development on the C-Link.

Twenty one of the 46 homes are to be delivered before the end of the year with the remaining 25 in quarter three next year. The homes will be two and three beds and the cost rental rates will begin at €1,025 per month, which is approximately thirty percent less than the current market rates.

Deputy Robert Troy says that allocation of funding is “very positive news”.

“It's a welcome development that for the first time we have cost rental houses coming on stream in Mullingar. This further demonstrates the government's commitment to supporting and tackling the housing challenges. It is multi-faceted. We need to build more houses, we need to build social houses, affordable houses and cost rental houses to cover all people who face housing challenges. “This is further evidence of the government's commitment to helping people into home ownership and into security of tenure. When you see the houses being built around Mullingar you can see that progress is being made. A corner has been turned and I look forward to this issue being addressed further in the years ahead.”