All houses at Foran’s Way to be allocated to council tenants
The three-bedroom terraced houses in Foran's Way
ALL 48 units at the Foran's Way social housing development in Tullow, Co Carlow will be allocated to council tenants by late November, following an agreement announced on Thursday that reverses an earlier decision to sell nearly half the homes on the private market.
Foran's Way, a €14 million, 48-home estate built by Wexford-based developer BHA Construction, was originally planned entirely for social housing. In June, Carlow Co Council confirmed that rising construction costs had led to a revised arrangement under which only 26 of the units would go to social housing, to be managed by Approved Housing Body Co-operative Housing Ireland (CHI), with the remaining 22 to be sold privately.
Carlow Co Council chief executive Coilín O'Reilly told councillors at the time that the change was required to keep the project financially viable, while noting the outcome was disappointing from a social housing delivery standpoint. He also apologised to elected representatives, saying the council had only recently become aware of the situation before the affected units were listed for private sale.
The June decision drew criticism from local representatives. Independent councillor William Paton, who represents the Tullow municipal district, said at the time that he had not been informed before the developer listed the homes privately. People Before Profit councillor Adrienne Wallace organised a protest at the development and questioned why no contract had been in place to guarantee the social housing commitment. There were approximately 130 people on the Tullow municipal district housing list at the time.
Following the June decision, BHA Construction, CHI, Carlow Co Council and the Housing Agency held a series of discussions aimed at securing social housing status for the full development. On Wednesday, the Department of Housing notified Carlow Co Council that it had approved increased funding to allow CHI to purchase all 48 homes from the builder.
The revised funding figure has not been disclosed. The funding is provided through the (CALF), a state scheme that supports Approved Housing Bodies in building and purchasing social homes.
In a statement to , CHI said: "Co-operative Housing Ireland, working with the Department of Housing, Carlow Co Council and the Housing Agency have been able to reach an agreement that will ensure the delivery of all 48 homes this year."
The statement continued: "We are delighted to deliver all 48 homes. Last year, Co-operative Housing Ireland delivered 918 homes throughout Ireland and we are on target to exceed this in 2026. We work constructively with a variety of partners to deliver as many social-rental affordable homes as possible."
Carlow TD and minister of state Jennifer Murnane O'Connor welcomed the news and said she had worked with housing minister James Browne, the Department of Housing and Carlow Co Council to reach the agreement.
The council received a letter of approval from the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage on 2 September approving the revised CALF application for 48 housing units at Foran's Way.
In a statement to , the council's director of services for housing Claire Hartley said: "Carlow Co Council welcomes this approval and is working to nominate 48 households on our social housing waiting list to the Approved Housing Body, Co-operative Housing Ireland."
