Council approves loan of €268,500 for purchase of County Roscommon house

A loan of €268,500 to the Roscara Housing Association for the purchase of a four bedroom bungalow in Frenchpark has been approved by Roscommon County Council.

A recent meeting of the council heard that the Roscara Housing Association intended to use the property to provide social housing accommodation to meet the needs of an applicant or household with a disability.

Director of services Chris Flynn told the meeting that section 6 of the Housing Miscellaneous Provisions Act 1992 permitted a housing authority to assist an approved housing body in providing housing accommodation, including through the making of a loan.

“The resolution before the members is therefore a necessary step to allow the acquisition to proceed,” said Mr Flynn. “It does not in itself complete the purchase, and the acquisition will remain subject to the formal funding, legal, valuation, and technical requirements. The proposed acquisition will provide a suitable family-sized home to an approved housing body, which they will own and manage, and will assist the council in meeting an identified disability-related housing need.” 

The loan was proposed by Cllr Paschal Fitzmaurice and seconded by Cllr Liam Callaghan.

“Roscara have a great track record in providing social housing for people with special needs, and I am delighted to support this, and I am sure every other councillor will as well,” said Cllr Fitzmaurice.

Cllr Callaghan said it was a very worthy case.

“We all know, as councillors, how difficult it is to find a property or to help find a property that fulfils the needs of somebody with special needs, so I very much welcome this,” said Cllr Sean Moylan.

*Published as part of the Local Democracy Reporting Scheme.