Sinn Féin Councillor Conor D. McGuinness has called on the Council to get working on delivering dedicated housing schemes for older people. He made the comments as a new scheme for older people seeking to ‘downsize’ was passed at the Council’s March meeting.
McGuinness said:
“There is a clear and growing need for dedicated housing schemes for older people in Dungarvan and West Waterford. Statistically we know that our population is growing older, and this is supported anecdotally by the volume of older people attending my clinics looking to move to smaller or more suitable accommodation.
“It is really positive that the council has adopted this new scheme and that allows both private homeowners and council tenants downsize to a more suitable unit. However, until those units are delivered the scheme will remain little more than a paper exercise. Its important to point out that the scheme is entirely voluntary.
“The Council now needs to get working to deliver dedicated housing schemes for older people. I have discussing a number of potential sites including at Kilrush in Dungarvan and in Ardmore and my call is for these to progress without delay.
“While the focus of this effort must be about providing appropriate, safe and more manageable housing for people as they get older, there will be a positive knock impact of greater availability of larger homes that may be more suited to young families.”
Conor D. McGuinness TD 