Just two hectares developed from 81 zoned for housing in Leitrim

Despite zoning 81.3 hectares for residential and mixed-use development, just 2.02 hectares have been built on in Leitrim, underscoring a growing housing crisis that councillors say urgently demands action.

Housing remains the most urgent issue facing the county, with repeated appeals highlighting the need to address the crisis to prevent further population decline in Leitrim.

At a recent meeting of Leitrim County Council, Cllr Enda McGloin referenced a public statement by the Minister for Housing, in which the Minister expressed a willingness to instruct local authorities to reopen their CDPs and rezone additional land for residential development. The aim is to ensure sufficient land is available for builders to deliver much-needed homes by the end of the year.

Cllr McGloin called on the Council to consider this proposal, stressing that Leitrim faces a housing shortfall similar to other parts of the country, with high demand from both buyers and renters seeking homes locally.

In response, Mary Quinn, Director of Services for Housing, confirmed that no Ministerial guidelines regarding revised Housing Targets in CDPs have been issued. 

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The Council is awaiting their publication before making any decisions about rezoning or varying the current CDP.

“I still think that there’s room for us as a Council to engage with all of the various people like planners, architects, builders and see collectively how we can find the means to make a success in terms of producing more land,” said Cllr McGloin.

Following this, Cllr Enda Stenson tabled a similar motion and asked how many family homes, both private and public, are expected to be completed in Leitrim in 2025.

In its reply, the Council stated that 11 dwellings were completed in the first quarter of this year. Between January and May, commencement notices were received for 41 housing units.

Regarding developments in the pipeline, those with planning permission granted but where commencement notices have yet to be submitted, there is potential for an additional 81 units in 2025, assuming all pending applications are approved. It is also anticipated that 36 social housing units will be delivered next year.

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“There’s a whole issue of demographics in this county where people are moving away from rural areas and we’ve got to get them back, we cannot get them back without housing,” said Cllr Stenson.

“Rural groups will go if we cannot keep people in these areas, it’s right across the board in Leitrim. It has to happen.”

Cllr O’Rourke added that one of the biggest barriers to housing development is Uisce Éireann, citing their lack of investment and what he described as the “extraordinary charge” for connecting to serviced areas, costs that can be up to four times higher than what private contractors would estimate.

“We’re in an emergency situation where we need to take extraordinary measures in order to try and house our population. Anything we can do needs to be done,” added Cllr Maeve Reynolds.