Despite the difficulties attached to dealing with housing waiting lists, Louth County Council has managed to deal with all that is thrown at them. Loughlene Gaels (Westmeath) clubman and adopted Louth supporter Patsy Fitzsimons explained the work involved in a busy environment while Peadar Sheils of Sheils Construction talks about his role in the developments. County Councils all over the country are busier than ever amidst a huge housing demand. In their attempts to satisfy the market, all local authorities face huge challenges. A glance at the Louth County Council's website reveals the measures they are taking to confront the problem. The Council has responded through housing construction, house improvement schemes, grants, loans and direct purchase of properties in an attempt to help people trying to get onto the "property ladder". Patsy Fitzsimons, Senior Executive Officer for Council Housing at Louth County Council is one of those in the thick of things in the Wee County. With over ten years of experience with the Louth Council, he is ideally placed to talk about how the County Council is dealing with the busy housing area. His own GAA background is in hurling. Originally from Westmeath, he keeps a close eye on the fortunes of his home club, Loughlene Gaels. He was there when Westmeath won the Leinster SFC title in 2004 after a replay. He admits that it has been difficult for them since with Division One a "tough arena" to play in. His adopted county have made significant progress this year. He has been impressed by Louth's performances in winning the Division 2 league title, the Tommy Murphy Cup and the Owen Treacy Cup in Boston. The County Council held a civic reception for them a few months ago to acknowledge their achievements this year. "Things are looking up for Louth and they have really got things moving in the right direction. Eamonn McEneaney has done a very good job with them and they have all put a lot of work into it. "I believe they are in the same grouping as Westmeath for the forthcoming national league Division One so that should be interesting," he says. Following Louth and Gaelic games in general is a welcome side interest from all his dealings in the Council offices. A hard-working team ensure that the workload surrounding the housing section can be properly dealt with. "I oversee the whole administrative end of the work and at the moment I am running all the housing operations. We have a team of administrators and technical people involved to run things as smoothly as possible. There are a wide range of things to do in the assessment of housing needs," he says. Working on social and affordable housing projects is a big part of his job. "Social housing involves putting people into houses in exchange for rent. There is a lot of work involved in these houses and the whole management of anti-social behaviour. "Affordable housing involves trying to provide houses at a cost which people can afford and which would be below the normal marketable value of that house. Managing waiting lists is a big part of the job," he says. There are a number of developments to keep all in the Council actively busy in their work. One of those is in Termonfeckin. In total 32 houses were built in Phase One of this scheme whereas a further 30 are being built in the second phase. This project is set to be finished in April 2007. Another development is in Blackrock (in Gort na Glaise on the Rock road). This project is now into the second phase of development. This phase involves building 25 social houses there in this phase as well as six affordable houses and five private sites. There are a number of others. Louth village and Clogherhead are just two of many other areas which the Council is involved in. "In Louth village we are building 32 social units at the moment. These are due to be finished in March. We are also undertaking a scheme in Clogherhead. This involves the building of 49 new premises between affordable houses and houses on private sites." During his decade or so with Louth County Council, Patsy has witnessed many changes in the whole housing area. "It's a very busy area to work in now and is a lot more complex. Generally we'd be building in bigger towns or villages. We're working towards a five-year plan at the moment and have a target of around 80 houses per year to build," he says. And, he adds, there are constant requests about housing. "There are around 575 people on the social housing list while on the affordable housing side, there are around 167 people. With the way house prices are, people can't always afford to buy houses so we are always trying to look at new houses. "It's very busy at the moment. The housing industry can be very volatile. Around 80,000 houses are being built in the country every year. There is talk of a slowdown but I don't see any sign of it at the moment." Dealing with people's needs can be difficult. There are lengthy procedures to follow and, problems to overcome. It may not be straightforward but generally he has been happy with how things have turned out. Refusing people is, he says, part of the job and there are inevitably people who will be disappointed when they cannot be accommodated. Despite significant investment in housing, demand is normally greater than supply. Peadar Sheils is Managing Director of Sheils Construction. The main contractor for the above-mentioned jobs with Louth County Council, he says the work has proved rewarding for him over the years. "I've been in business since the early 1970s and have remained there ever since. There has never really been a day when I've been idle. It's been great. I suppose it's a bonus to be in a job you like. "You have to like the building industry if you're in it and I've got great satisfaction out of the work. You've a lot of people to deal with but any problems I have I try to deal with them rather than move them on to somebody else," he says. Peadar and his brothers Gerry and David played football with Roche Emmets in their younger days, as did their sons. Now even though his time is consumed by the long hours demanded by the building industry, Peadar still manages to catch the occasional Louth game whenever he can. Mark, his eldest son, is a Director of the company and together they have proved to be a successful combination. Mark played many championships for Roche Emmets and was part of the winning teams during the '80s at underage football up to minor level and went for trials with the county team at underage level. All the developments such as those at Louth village and Termonfeckin, Peadar says, will greatly enhance these areas. Working on site all the time, maintaining relationships in his business is a crucial part to success. He realises that there is plenty of opposition out there but is delighted to see the building boom benefiting everyone. There have been enormous changes in the building industry since he started. Most of them are positive; rather than things moving slowly, the pace of building work has created plenty of opportunities for people like Peadar. Both Peadar and Patsy will be hoping that in future years, the GAA can draw its resources from many of the houses which the Council is planning to build. Louth, he says, still has a big population to cater for and he knows that the Council has plenty of work to do in future years. Consolidation and keeping a close eye on the future housing situation can help move things forward. Tweet

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