Housing delays plague Carlow as utility connection issues mount

SOCIAL housing projects across Carlow are facing significant delays due to connectivity problems with ESB Networks, according to county council officials, who outlined mounting frustrations at a recent Muinebheag Municipal District meeting.

The council is currently managing multiple housing developments that have been held up by utility connection issues, with some projects potentially facing months-long delays despite earlier assurances from service providers.

“The second housing project we’re currently working on is Upper Main Street in Borris. There are two units there on site now. We are on track but there are issues with connectivity to ESB Networks,” said Tadhg Madden, assistant executive officer for housing.

Similar problems are affecting the Tinteán Housing Carlow development on Lower Street at The Green Drake, where 17 units are being constructed for the council. “They’re going very well at the minute but again there’s connectivity issues and we have a meeting set up with ESB Networks to push these and other projects on,” said Mr Madden.

The connectivity crisis has left some developers in particularly difficult situations. Cllr Tommy Kinsella highlighted one case involving 20 social houses that were expected to be completed this year.

“They contacted ESB Networks maybe a year ago and they were told connectivity was guaranteed on time for when the houses were finished,” said cllr Kinsella. However, when the developer followed up, apparently the person they were liaising with was no longer there and ESB Networks had no knowledge of the situation with the housing project.

The situation has left the developer facing significant uncertainty.

“So we have a position, then, where this man is after putting all his resources into finishing these houses come August and that’s when we had hoped it would happen,” stated Mr Kinsella.

The problems extend beyond social housing to private developments, with individual homeowners also experiencing lengthy delays. “Similarly with one-off houses, people would have been given a timeline of maybe three and four months behind, which is very frustrating. I know people who have had houses that were ready to move into in the winter, but they needed electricity to finish work,” added Mr Kinsella.

Mr Madden acknowledged the council’s limited ability to address the utility companies directly but confirmed the widespread nature of the problem. “Like you said, that’s out of our hands and we can’t comment on those agencies, but we can say yes, we are having the exact same issues trying to deliver our social housing with ESB Networks as well as Uisce Éireann.” 

The council has implemented some measures to address the delays, including working with the Local Government Management Agency to fast-track connections. “We have a contact in the LGMA; we’re able to use them to fast-track connections, and that is working,” said Mr Madden.

Recent engagement efforts have shown some promise. The council held a productive meeting with Uisce Éireann last month to discuss current and future projects and has scheduled a meeting with ESB Networks in the coming weeks.

Mr Madden also confirmed staffing issues may be contributing to the communication problems, noting that “someone did retire and I don’t think they have been replaced”, when referring to the missing ESB Networks contact mentioned by cllr Kinsella.