A plan to convert the former Garda station in Newbliss into a specially adapted social home for a local family caring for a child with Rett syndrome faces a €400,000 budget shortfall, after construction costs rose, according to a Dáil question from Cavan-Monaghan TD Matt Carthy.
Deputy Carthy (Sinn Féin) asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage on Thursday, 15 October whether the Department would provide emergency capital funding to Monaghan County Council to bridge the gap. In his written question he said the project had been specifically allocated to a family caring for a child with Rett syndrome who needs 24-hour care, and asked what mechanisms exist to stop disability housing projects being abandoned because of rising tender prices. The family were not named in the published question.
What the Department said
In a written answer, the Department said it "continues to engage" with Monaghan County Council on delivering social housing through the adaptation of the old station, and that the Council "is currently reviewing its funding proposal in light of significant cost and value-for-money challenges presented by the project."
It said it remains committed to re-using vacant and derelict buildings for social housing, including for people with disabilities, and accepted that such projects "often present additional complexity and challenge", with "a somewhat higher cost tolerance" applied where appropriate.
But it added that "it can never be a case of delivery at any cost when it comes to deploying tax-payer money", and that costs must stay reasonable, "particularly if more cost effective options and mechanisms can deliver the same outcomes." Any revised proposal from the Council will be considered on that basis, the answer said.
The reply did not commit to any extra money, and it gave no timeline.
A building empty since 2013
The old station on the Scotshouse Road has been vacant since 2013. In a Dáil answer last December, the Office of Public Works said the building had been placed on the Council's derelict sites register, that it was being transferred to Monaghan County Council under State property-transfer rules, and that it had cost €33,334.95 to maintain since it closed. The same answer said the former Garda station at Smithborough, empty since 2012, was being considered by An Garda Síochána for operational use.
In September, Northern Sound reported that the future of the Newbliss station was waiting on Department funding approval, although designs for the building were complete. That update came in answer to questions from Fine Gael councillor Richard Truell about derelict and vacant buildings in the village.
Wider work in the village
The Council told councillors in September that its Town Regeneration Section had engaged with nine properties in Newbliss. Four had been acquired by the Council, a three-unit residential development was planned for Main Street, and a site on Lower Main Street was being considered for community use, subject to funding. Another Lower Main Street property had been sold to a developer.
Separately, the Council has been told the Government's turnkey social housing scheme is to end in 2027; you can read our report on that here.
Monaghan Brief will not identify the family involved. We will report on any revised funding proposal when it is published.
