Longford councillor demands 'we stop turning commercial premises into social housing'

Longford County Council's Housing Department is being urged not to purchase any further commercial premises on the main streets of Longford Town or in any other town or villages in the county, for the purpose of providing social housing units. 

The motion, from Councillor Gerry Hagan, was put forward during the November meeting of the local authority.

It states that particularly in Longford Town Centre, there is already "a significant number of social housing units in this immediate area, and there is no evidence to suggest there is a current local demand that is not being met by the existing provisions."

The motion expresses concern about the consequences of the current policy. "The conversion of these premises will lead to disruption for existing businesses in the form of increased noise, traffic and parking issues, coupled with an expected increase in anti-social behaviour and drug abuse on the main street of our town." 

Cllr Paul Ross welcomed the motion, stating: "I support the motion, the concern is that all the units being built are social housing but there needs to be a mix to cater for the different needs of the people. There has to be more to a town than just choosing the simple option, we have to be more ambitious in that regard." 

Cllr Kevin Hussey was wary of the impact that more social housing may bring to the town: "Since the pubs closed down, there's been a number of people smoking on the streets or walking around in their pyjamas and it's not right, we can't just turn the whole town into apartments so I think it's a great motion.”

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Social Development Director of Services Samantha Healy, who is responsible for housing and community, responded to Cllr Hagan's motion.

She stated that "to deliver social housing across the county, Longford County Council makes use of a range of delivery mechanisms to provide new social and affordable homes including new builds, acquisitions, renovations, leasing and housing supports and all delivery mechanisms require review and approval before being used for social housing.”

The response to the motion also outlined the breakdown of social housing units allocated throughout 2025. "Longford County Council added 38 social housing units during 2025 through construction projects, acquisitions and the rental accommodation scheme." 

The figures indicate that an additional 12 new build units are due for completion by year end with a further 93 units currently under construction or due to commence construction across the county before the end of 2025. 

Ms Healy also addressed the potential impact on the community explaining: "Longford County Council takes concerns about anti-social behaviour seriously. However, it is important to note that anti-social behaviour is not inherently linked to social housing.” 

She concluded, "Longford County Council remains committed to providing high quality sustainable housing solutions while safeguarding the economic and social fabric of our towns and villages and welcomes continued dialogue with elected members.” 

Cllr Gerry Hagan followed up by saying, "I acknowledge the response but there has been changing of ground floors of business to social flats on the main street of our town without consulting anyone. We were elected to be the voice of the people on these matters, before any commercial premises are turned into social housing, we need to be notified.” 

He added, "At the moment, we are oversubscribed in our town centre with the provision for this type of housing and we don't need any more of it, it goes against our county development plan." 

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