Cathaoirleach cuts ribbon on new local authority housing

Thomas Lyons

The residents of the latest batch of new local authority housing will be getting their keys in the coming week, but prior to that Westmeath County Council held an official ribbon cutting ceremony for two of the projects that will deliver 39 new homes.

Cathaoirleach of Westmeath County Council, Cllr Aoife Davitt, welcomed some of the new residents to take possession of their new homes. The group also included Barry Kehoe, chief executive of Westmeath County Council, Minister for State at the Department of Finance, Robert Troy, Cllr Andrew Duncan, Cllr Ken Glynn and representatives of all the bodies involved in delivering the projects.

Galway based Coolsivna Construction Group Ltd, were contracted for the jobs, have been working on the undertaking since movement began in 2022. All of the homes were designed by Westmeath County Council’s in-house architectural team with the assistance of McMahon Associates Consulting Engineers.

“We’re delighted to have you here today to help us to celebrate the opening of these fabulous housing developments,” Cllr Davitt told the gathering.

The new housing developments at Robinstown Row and St Brigid’s Green, Mullingar are part of the Rapids project of 62 units total in Mullingar and Castlepollard.

The 22-home development at St Bridget’s Green, Mullingar, is adjacent to Ashfield, and consists of 14 single-storey houses and eight apartments. The 17-home social apartment complex at Robinstown Row was also completed as part of the Rapids project.

Speaking at the launch, Jackie Finney, director of service for Housing, Community Development, and the Town Centre First programmes, said the local authority are focused on shortening waiting lists: “Westmeath County Council are actively involved in multiple housing projects to address housing needs in the county, including social housing and affordable purchase schemes as part of the ‘Housing for All’ strategy.”

Ms Finney referenced other projects including the eight-home development at Water Street, Castlepollard and the 15-home development adjacent to Ennell Court, Mullingar.

She spoke of the teamwork between the elected members and the executive: “I just want to thank the elected members for all their support on these projects over the years, from inception, through planning, and liaising with the residents. It’s great to see housing developments like this which are integrated within a community.”

At the ribbon cutting ceremony at St Bridget’s Green, Cllr Davitt spoke of the importance of the day: “Earlier we got to have a little glimpse inside these fabulous constructions. The next step is where the residents are actually in the units. From speaking to people, you get the sense of the difference it has made in their lives and how transformative it can be.”

The cathaoirleach gave credit to those who laboured behind the scenes: “Work is progressing all the time. I would like to thank our council staff and the Department of Housing. Today is the culmination of a lot of hard work. Days like today are because of the unseen work the staff across all departments put in, work that truly makes a difference in the lives of the people who are now taking up their tenancies.”

Cllr Davitt said the local authority has a fine track record in the area of housing: “The schemes we visit today represent the extensive work that is under way by Westmeath County Council under delivering homes building communities 2025 to 2030. In 2025 alone, 186 new social homes were built by the council. That’s an amazing record of delivery with our partners, and it has exceeded all records.”

Prior to the launch John Halligan, clerk of works with the local authority, said the Robinstown Row will cater for a range of local authority tenants: “There’s a mix of one-bed, two-bed units, there are duplex above apartments and there are disabled accessible units, specific disabled accessible units built here as well.

“There is a wide variety of unit types. All will go towards reducing council housing list, it will be fully occupied by this time next week. All of these are new builds, properties with high energy efficiency, A2 rated, which are cheap to run.”

The location has many benefits: “It’s close to town, tenants won’t be reliant on cars. They have good permeability, good links to the town,” Mr Halligan said.

The site is at the junction of the Delvin Road and Robinstown Road, and is on land that was in local authority ownership: “A few years ago, I went to the director of housing and suggested a social housing scheme would be constructed for this particular location,” Cllr Mick Dollard, cathaoirleach of the Mullingar Kinnegad MD, said at the launch: “These units comprise one- and two-bedroom units, a lot of ground floor accommodation that will be suitable for the wheelchair-bound or people with physical disabilities.”

Cllr Dollard also noted the importance of the location: “It’s an infill housing development. It’s close to all the resources. It’s beside the national school, the church and a shopping centre.”

Ms Finnerty noted the vibrancy of the construction sector in the county: “Westmeath County Council are committed to delivering social homes.

“There’s a total of 454 projects across the county at the moment and across a range of delivery partners. The amount of building going on in Mullingar alone between local authority and private development is great to see.”