Cavan County Council look at private investment to build new homes and address poor living conditions in existing housing.
Cavan town has a population of 4,500 with many people living in poor housing conditions. There are 120 homes in the town that have no bathroom. Raw sewage flows from officially condemned houses into the Kinnypottle River. Older people are living in institutions in Cavan town or in homes for widowed people.
Demand for social housing in Cavan exceeds supply. At the new housing estate of Saint Martin's 96 families have applied for 56 homes. Cavan County Council is looking to use private investment to address the housing problem. Twenty half acre sites have been sold at £9,000 each and 107 sites at £5,000 each.
An RTÉ News report broadcast on 23 October 1979. The reporter is Jim Fahy.
