On a street corner in Belturbet, Co Cavan, an old pub that was once full of life, stands empty; unused.
The Duckin' Stool has been closed and the building vacant for a number of years.
But by next Spring, it will be home to a number of people who are currently on the social housing waiting list in Co Cavan.
Inside, contractors are already at work, renovating the vacant property that will eventually be transformed into three units, two two-beds and a one-bed.
"We hope it will bring some life to this corner," says Eoin Doyle, Director of Services with Cavan County Council.
"It’s part of a number of projects across the county, trying to regenerate town centres," he said.
Mr Doyle said that the council acquired the property recently, and due to changes with planning exemptions, it was able to fast-track planning and procurement.
"It’s breathing new life into town centres in Cavan. It’s regenerating vacant and derelict properties and it’s part of an overall effort to increase housing supply and utilise every single property in the county," he said.
This is one way that the council is hoping to put a dent in its social housing list, and it’s hoped that much like the Duckin’ Stool, private property owners could also refurbish vacant properties in towns and villages to increase housing stock.
A new grant scheme called Croí Cónaithe is now available for this purpose, and more than 50 applications in Cavan have already been approved.
There are currently 540 households on the county’s social housing list, all in need of permanent and secure accommodation.
Mr Doyle said the number was significant, and while it has remained relatively static in recent years, there has been an upward increase in demand.
Some of this demand is also being met by the provision of new build homes, which the council is delivering in partnership with approved housing bodies.
Cavan County Council says that 80 homes will be completed this year, with plans for another 380 over the next three-and-a-half years.
Tuath Housing is one of the approved housing bodies working with the council to deliver on its targets.
It provides homes for more than 27,000 people nationally in more than 10,000 properties.
Aileen Gallagher is Head of New Business and Delivery with Tuath Housing.
"Our main remit is to deliver homes to those on housing lists of local authorities, so it is generally social housing, we’re doing some cost-rentals for those who don’t qualify for social housing. We also look to deliver homes for those with different needs, the elderly, and persons with disability."
In total, Tuath will have provided 126 homes in Cavan by the end of this year and a further 40 are due to be built next year.
Part of this figure, is the last phase of 25 homes in Drumalee Manor just outside Cavan town, where a mixture of two, three and four-bed homes are almost ready for their new tenants to move into.
"These will satisfy the needs of 25 families coming from the Cavan County Council housing list."
Aileen Gallagher said that 2022 was Tuath’s biggest year, but it is on track to exceed that this year.
"Last year was our biggest delivery year, of 1,983 homes. This year, we will significantly exceed that, about 2,300, which is big delivery. That’s a huge proportion of the the overall sector delivery," she said.
Ms Gallagher said that it was very important for Tuath to deliver housing in both urban and rural areas.
"There are housing lists in all local authorities. There is no doubt the majority of our homes are in larger towns and cities, and we are always looking for opportunities to do that."
While homeless figures are often concentrated on Dublin and larger urban areas, Cavan has not escaped.
There are currently 17 cases, involving 20 adults and eight children, living in emergency accommodation in the county.
Eoin Doyle says that figures are "a snapshot", but there has been an increase, as this time last year, there were just seven cases.
He said that emergency accommodation is provided in the first instance, but that the duration is limited as much as possible, before working with the people to secure longer term solutions.
Buying and renting
For those hoping to buy or rent a home in Cavan, there are constraints too.
Virginia is located in the south of the county and is less than an hour from Blanchardstown, with easy access to the M3 motorway.
The busy town has become a very popular place to live among commuters and those leaving the capital behind in recent years.
Local estate agent Padraic O’Dwyer of DNG O’Dwyer says that Virginia became popular in the boom years, but that popularity has come back around again.
He says that like everywhere else, prices rose post Covid.
"We are finding that properties that would be seen as reasonable market value or under market value, we are seeing a huge demand, the telephones are hopping as soon as we put them on, huge internet hits, we’re seeing that an awful lot.
"There is a huge frustration, with people trying to buy, there’s bidding wars going on, some properties are making up to €100,000 more, it’s similar to what you’d see in Dublin, maybe to a lesser extent, but similar."
He added: "Even down here, you’re seeing the same things as they’re seeing in the cities."
However, he said there hasn’t been much house building going on.
"From this area in general, we haven’t really seen enough housing built in this area in the last number of years. Pretty much since the crash in 2008, there hasn’t been a substantial amount of housing built, if any at all."
Mr O’Dwyer says that the waste water treatment plant in the town has to be upgraded before there is more development.
He said that there are a number of developers interested in building hundreds of houses in Virginia and that demand would be there, but that can’t go ahead until the water infrastructure is dealt with.
Uisce Éireann says it is progressing plans to upgrade the Virginia Wastewater Treatment plant and pending the result of its planning application, it expects to deliver the upgrades by the end of 2024.
The planning application was submitted in December last year, and Uisce Éireann is currently preparing a response to a request for further information from the planning authority.
Uisce Éireann says it is committed to playing its part in the national drive to provide homes, by developing and prioritising the delivery of key water infrastructure.
It says there is "potential spare capacity" in the wastewater network in Virginia and that connection applications will be considered on an individual basis, considering their specific load requirements.
Eoin Doyle says that there has been an increase in planning applications being approved for private developers in towns around the county, and a significant number of commencement notices coming through.
"What I do see is significant potential to boost private house numbers in the coming years," he said.
When it comes to renting in Cavan, a quick search on property website DAFT this week showed just 19 properties to let in the entire county.
Padraic O’Dwyer says that is probably more than usual.
He describes "incredible demand" for any properties they offer for letting.
"We get maybe 80-100 inquiries in three to four hours. Then when we do a viewing date, I would see maybe 30-40 parties in one viewing session."
He said that some clients are based abroad, looking to return home, while others are coming from all over the country in search of an affordable property.
Mr O’Dwyer said that some people are in "desperate" situations looking for somewhere to live.
"I’m getting people telling me they’re sleeping in their cars, there’s people who are away from their families, their kids are living in one property and they’re living in another, what you’d call sofa surfing," he said.
He said the people who come to viewings have been offering deposits up front, offering more money, and advance payments of rent in order to try to secure the lettings.
"Anything they feel that would put them ahead in the queue," he said.
"It’s really difficult, you get people who are in a really desperate situation," he added.
Rapid build homes
The arrival of Ukrainian people fleeing the war and others seeking international protection has placed an added pressure on housing.
More than 1,500 Ukrainian people are estimated to be living in Cavan, in a variety of accommodation, from living with family already resident here, private rented accommodation, and other accommodation provided by the State, like hotels and B&Bs.
40 offers of pledged accommodation in the county from the public are also in use under the "Offer a Home" scheme.
Another solution from Government was the provision of rapid build or modular homes for Ukrainian people.
When the plan was first announced more than a year ago, the first units were expected to be ready by last November.
One such development is on the Farnham Road in Cavan, where 28 units will be home to 112 people.
Work is still ongoing on the site, and the timelines for completion have been delayed on numerous occasions.
The Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth, which is responsible for the project, says it is now intended to have all the homes in Cavan occupied by the end of August - subject to any unforeseen site issues.
It said that a range of issues have impacted timelines on all first phase sites, including the availability of suitable sites and issues relating to site conditions, including delays from clearing invasive plant species and water and waste water capacity issues.
It said that the OPW and its contractor has worked to resolve these issues to reduce the delays to the programme as much as is practically possible.
So, a broad spectrum of potential solutions to the housing problem, but the question in Cavan, as with every other county, is how quickly all these homes can be delivered.
