DONEGAL County Council has put a further €2 million aside to assist first time buyers under the Local Authority Home Loan.
The Local Authority Home Loan (LAHL) is available for people who are unable to obtain sufficient funding from commercial banks to purchase or build a home.
The loan can be used to purchase new and second-hand properties, or to self-build.
The additional funds were approved at Monday’s plenary meeting of Donegal County Council.
Proposing the move, Cllr Ciaran Brogan said he thinks it is a good initiative.
“Where we can be trying to help families get new homes, we should be doing everything we can,” he said.
“Back in the day, council loans would have got a lot of people on the ladder.”
Welcoming the allocation, Cllr Michael McClafferty said it is good to see.
“Like Ciaran said, back in the 70s/80s, these loans were very prevalent,” he said.
“It is good to see them coming back.”
However, he said he couldn’t let the opportunity pass without acknowledging planning restrictions on the N56.
“I can’t pass this on without acknowledging that it is not going to work for a lot of young people throughout rural Donegal because of the N56 problem,” he said.
He mentioned that young people cannot secure sites because their land is located along the N56, leaving them with little to no options.
“While the proposal is good, we need to be practical as well,” he said.
While welcoming the additional funding, Cllr Martin Harley emphasised that it should be match-funded by the government.
“There is roughly 8,000 derelict and empty buildings and properties in Donegal,” he said.
“If we brought them all up to speed, we would sort out the whole housing crisis in Ireland, never mind going to any other county.
“This is a great initiative by Donegal County Council but I think the national government need to step up to the plate as well and put another €2 million into it.
“At the end of the day, €2 million is not going to go very far.
“Realistically, you could be looking at 20 houses.
“It is not really going to change the radar very much.
“I know it is a good start, but going forward we have to do more.”
Cllr Martin Farren agreed that the additional allocation should be match-funded and voiced his support for Cllr Harley.
“I certainly welcome this initiative, but I fully support Cllr Harley in terms of match funding,” he said.
“We need that as well to go forward.”
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