Pallaskenry housing scheme considered ’the biggest lie since Satan was a boy’

INDEPENDENT Ireland councillor Tommy Hartigan demanded an update from Limerick Council on The Orchard housing estate...

INDEPENDENT Ireland councillor Tommy Hartigan demanded an update from Limerick Council on The Orchard housing estate in Pallaskenry, which he deemed an “absolute disaster from the beginning”.

Cllr Hartigan says he has requested a progress report numerous times from the local authority to no avail.

He deemed the process of receiving information on the completion dates for the estate, at September’s Adare/Rathkeale area meeting, “an absolute joke”.

Seconding the motion, Fine Gael councillor Adam Teskey said he considered it “laughable” that the item was back on the agenda when it should have been dealt with 12-months ago.

“It was October of last year when we were promised, after a debacle about the disposal of the houses, that a developer would dispose of the properties. We were told that was going to happen and shortly after people would be nominated to the houses. We were lead to believe this would be resolved in six to eight weeks,” a flabbergasted Cllr Teskey pointed out.

“How is this acceptable? Who has made the mistake here? Whose head is on the line? Who’s going to answer the serious questions surrounding this? The people of Pallaskenry deserve better.”

Cllr Stephen Keary (FG) said that eight of the houses in the Pallaskenry scheme were initially due to be private with the remaining stock Council-owned. However, he claimed this all changed overnight when the developer went into liquidation.

“This whole project is the greatest lie since Satan was a boy. It all went up in a heap. This is going on and on and on, it must be nearly six or seven years?” It’s an absolute disgrace,” Cllr Keary claimed.

In response, Limerick Council said that it completed the purchase of eight houses at The Orchards in August 2025. Council members were informed that there are eight units waiting to be completed within the development and seven are being purchased by Focus Housing Association via the Capital Assistance Scheme.

One further unit is being purchased by the Council. Upon completion, all units within the 16-unit scheme will be occupied by people from the local authority’s housing list.

“In terms of the eight remaining units to be completed, unit numbers 13, 14, 15, and 16 are near completion and expected to be ready for snagging before the end of September 2026. Focus will be acquiring three units – 2 x 4-bed and 1 x 3-bed – with LCCC acquiring a 1 x 3-bed unit,” said Sarah Newell, senior engineer of the Council’s Housing Strategy and Mixed-Tenure Partnership Unit.

“Completion of unit numbers 5, 6, 7, and 8 have been delayed with the builder advising an early 2027 handover for the 4 x 3-bed units to Focus.

“Focus Housing Association are engaging regularly with the builder to encourage an earlier delivery date. While the builder is providing weekly updates and is aware of the urgency for these units to be completed, construction worker and subcontractor availability are cited as the reasons for the delay in completing these units,” she concluded.