Mayo County Council has expressed its "profound disappointment" following a fire at a site earmarked for social housing in Ballina overnight.
The fire occurred at the former Duffy's Bakery site on the Foxford Road in Ballina yesterday evening.
Gardaí and fire services attended the fire at around 9.15pm, with the fire being brought under control in the hours following.
Mayo County Council said it can "categorically state" that the property was only ever intended to provide housing for persons on the Mayo County Council social housing list.
Posts on social media had incorrectly claimed that the site was to be used to house International Protection applicants.
The Department of Justice confirmed that it has not received an offer to use the site for accommodation for International Protection applicants nor is it considering the buildings for this use.
The council said the development would see the construction of 31 own-door-access apartments as well as the refurbishment of the terraced houses at numbers 5 to 7 Raheen Row.
The terraced buildings on Raheen Row were those affected by the fire last night.
"This development was intended to provide own door accommodation for the growing section of the population who are seeking one- and two-bedroom units located within walking distance of the town centre, with the facilities and services that come with such a location.
"At their July meeting held last week, the elected members of the Ballina Municipal District approved the development of the scheme which would have provided 31 new homes to families and persons on the housing list. At present there are 631 on the housing list in the Ballina Municipal District," the council said in a statement.
The council said its housing section is assessing the impact of the fire.
It said it is also now assessing the feasibility of delivering the scheme and the timeframe for providing "much needed homes for those on the housing list".
The council said that traffic management will remain in place near the site until structural assessments are completed on the buildings.
The scene has been preserved following the fire and a technical examination will be conducted in due course.
No injuries have been reported, gardaí said.
Gardaí have begun investigations into the cause of the fire.
Additional costs and timelines set back due to fire
Mayo County Council's Director of Services Catherine McConnell described the fire damage to buildings as disappointing.
Speaking on RTÉ's News at One, she said that two of the buildings are significantly damaged and the third is damaged by heat and smoke.
Ms McConnell rejected the suggestion that the building was going to be used to house asylum seekers.
"I can absolutely confirm that was never the intended plan for this site. The council purchased these properties in 2023 solely for the intention of providing new housing units to meet our growing housing list in the Ballina area.
"There was never, ever a plan or proposal to use these for anything other than homes for our own people."
Ms McConnell said the council did not receive a single objection to the project as part of public consultation.
She said the council is doing a feasibility assessment and adjusting the timeframe and costings for the development of this site as a result of the fire.
"It will cost additional money because the building now has to be thoroughly assessed, the damaged materials have to be removed and we then have to readjust our tenders to see what it will cost to deliver the proposal, which we do intend to go ahead with.
"But this has certainly set back the timelines and probably increased the costs that are associated with providing these 31 units."
