CONSERVATION is proving an obstacle to solving the housing crisis in Kilmallock. That’s according to Limerick politician Richard O’Donoghue, a building contractor whose constituency office is also based in the South Limerick town.
Speaking in the Dáil, the Rural Ireland Independent TD said that from the point of view of tenancies and voids, Kilmallock is a 14th century town.
“How do I get people into buildings? It is costing more to get tenants into listed buildings. In the 1400s, 1500s, 1600s, 1700s, and 1800s, and all the way up to 50 years ago, there were people living in these buildings. But now, conservation is standing in the way of me putting people back into them,” Deputy O’Donoghue declared.
“Instead of encouraging people to move into listed buildings, you are being discouraged because of the cost involved.”
The biggest problem, he continued, is that even though the listed buildings are included in existing sewage systems that are there, the systems are broken.
“Even though they are included in the statistics for the sewerage systems, they cannot put people in because the systems that are there are broken. For me to have tenants in situ there and to keep them there, and for me to get more tenants into the areas where I live, is a problem and everything is around infrastructure, planning and enforcement,” he explained.
“I am a builder. I build every day. I was on-site this morning before I came here. There is probably a bit of concrete on my shoes, but my colleagues will have to excuse that. I understand it because I live it. I understand what is getting in the way of putting people into buildings because I live it on a daily basis.”
“For people to get into my county, infrastructure is needed. For businesses to survive in my county, infrastructure is needed. If you do a retrofit on your business, you cannot build unless we have people there.
“If there is no infrastructure, tenants are at a loss because it is costing more to live in the county to go to work,” he concluded.
