Galway 'one of the worst' for house building as councillors demand Government funding

Galway City Council has been described as "one of the worst in the country" for house building as councillors called for greater Government investment to help deliver new homes.

Published 7th Jul 2026, 07:31 BST Iconic Galway City Council has been described as "one of the worst in the country" for house building as councillors called for greater Government investment to help deliver new homes. Sign up to our Connacht Tribune Today daily newsletter Sign up Thank you for signing up! Did you know you can manage your profile, and explore all of the available newsletters from Connacht Tribune within your account.

Fianna Fáil Cllr Alan Cheevers said there is a severe housing shortage, particularly for young couples trying to get on the property ladder.

"We as a local authority are one of the worst in the country for building houses,” he said.

"We have lacked big time over the last number of years. There is a huge lack of housing, especially for young couples trying to get on the property ladder.

“We must see urgency now from the council on their responsibility to roll out construction and housing developments."

READ NEXT: Fly-tipping crackdown as CCTV returning to Co Galway bring banks

Cllr Cheevers pointed to the lack of progress on the council's planned 103-home social and affordable housing development at Merlin Park, which received approval in 2021 but has yet to break ground.

“We need the council to show a clear timeframe on how they will build residential developments on their own landbank and how they will roll that out."

He also highlighted the lack of progress at Ardaun, the proposed new suburb on the eastern edge of the city, where plans for up to 4,000 homes have been delayed for years because of the need for major investment in roads, water services and other infrastructure.

"There are no clear inroads in relation to the development of Ardaun which was proposed many years ago," he said.

READ NEXT: County councillors demand action on city pay-and-display machines after visitor fines

In June, councillors approved a variation to the Galway City Development Plan to bring it into line with updated national planning and housing guidelines.

The variation brought forward approximately 89 hectares of additional land to support future housing needs.

It rezoned a number of sites for housing, identified land for future residential growth and updated planning policies to reflect revised Government housing targets.

However, Cllr Alan Curran (Soc Dem) said there was little point in zoning more land unless the Government also provided the funding needed to deliver the supporting infrastructure.

"My concern is that we already have nearly 100 hectares of land zoned for housing,” he said after the meeting.

"We are adding another 100 hectares of land for housing and we don't seem to be actioning on it. “While we are zoning land to meet a target set by a ministerial direction there is no plan to actually build the housing.

"There needs to be push back from this City Council to the Minister to say 'we will zone the land but you need to give us the funds or the resources to be able to build housing'.

"We should be pushing back against the Minister setting these targets and expecting us to deliver without an increase in funding."

READ NEXT: Fresh push to reopen Milltown station ahead of Western Rail Corridor revival