Advice for Offaly people planning house purchase, renovation or insulation

Cllr Eddie Fitzpatrick, Fianna Fail council election candidate Claire Murray, Senator Mary Fitzpatrick and Cllr Robert McDermott at a public meeting on housing

placeholder image — Cllr Eddie Fitzpatrick, Fianna Fail council election candidate Claire Murray, Senator Mary Fitzpatrick and Cllr Robert McDermott at a public meeting on housing

Government schemes outlined at event hosted by councillor

AN information evening in Edenderry recently gave advice on the various Government schemes designed to help people buying, renovating or insulating houses.

Cllr Robert McDermott, Fianna Fail, organised the event where there were presentations on the First Home Scheme, how to save costs on planning applications, the Derelict Home Grant, the Vacant Home Grant as well as the many SEAI (Sustainable Energy Association Ireland) grants and schemes.

“I get a lot of queries from constituents about buying houses or renovating houses and therefore I decided to hold this information evening to address the many questions raised,” said Cllr McDermott.

The keynote speaker on the night was Senator Mary Fitzpatrick who works closely with the Minister for Housing and is a member of the Housing Committee in the Oireachtas.

Other contributors on the night included Shane Murphy (pictured on the right below), managing director of Ashgrove Renewables, who gave a detailed presentation on the various SEAI schemes and grants that people can avail of to make their homes more energy efficient.

Cllr McDermott added: “This was a very successful evening and people who attended gained valuable information on their housing queries. Senator Fitzpatrick has a wealth of knowledge on all matters housing and the information she gave was invaluable. Many people there were surprised at the amount of SEAI grants available, which were explained by Shane Murphy in his excellent presentation.”

Two other Fianna Fail councillors Eddie Fitzpatrick, Cloneyhurke and Tony McCormack, Tullamore (the latter is pictured on the right below with Fergal Swaine), along with the party's local election candidate, Claire Murray, also attended the event, which was held in O’Donoghues Pub, Edenderry.

Anyone seeking further information on the issues is encouraged by Cllr McDermott to drop into his constituency office in Edenderry, which he says is the only permanent constituency office in the area.