Galway County Council is still waiting for funding to bring 40 local authority units back into use, Fianna Fáil TD for Galway West, Éamon Ó Cuív, has revealed.

In March, the local authority applied to the Department of Housing for funding under the Voids Programme, a €24m initiative aimed at bringing a minimum of 1,400 void and vacant social housing units back into use.

However, Deputy Ó Cuív has now hit out at Housing Minister Eoghan Murphy for the Department's delay in evaluating the application.

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"Some of these houses have fallen into disrepair and need work carried out on them," he said.

"In March Galway County Council submitted an application to the Department for funding under the voids programme so that these homes could be brought back into use. It's still waiting to hear back from the Department.

"This is a ridiculous situation.  Galway is in the grip of the worst housing crisis it has ever faced and the government is delaying essential funding, which would not only get homes back on stream, it would be able to do it much faster than having to build them from scratch.

"Minister Eoghan Murphy needs to get to grips with what's going on in his Department.  These applications should not be taking four months to review.  I am calling on the Minister and his officials to urgently approve this funding so that families on the local authority waiting list can be accommodated."

(LM)