'It doesn’t feel real to finally have my forever home’
The mother of a young baby says getting the keys to her new home in Farganstown has been “life changing” after spending years on the social housing list.
April Martin (35), and her four month old son Rico are two of the new residents in Gort na Glaise, one of the three housing developments launched by Meath County Council on Friday.
The developments consisting of over 230 new social houses, which cost a total of €81.3 million to build, are located in Farganstown outside Navan, Aylesbury in Clonee and Millrace in Ashbourne.
The development at Farganstown outside Navan, which cost over €25.8 million, consists of 84 new homes on a 1.7 hectare site.
Construction on this project commenced in February 2023 and was completed in February 2025 and consists of 0.34 hectares of open space and landscaping, 131 car parking spaces, cycle parking, and communal refuse storage for apartments.
The Aylesbury development in Clonee cost over €28 million and consists of 73 new apartments in two apartment blocks close to the village.
Meanwhile, at a cost of around €27.5 million, the development in Millrace in Ashbourne is made up of 74 new homes on a 2.8 hectare site.
Speaking on moving into her new home, Ms Martin said:
“It is amazing, I'm over the moon and so grateful to finally have our forever home.”
“The estate is beautiful and I have great neighbours so it's just a dream come true.”
Prior to receiving the keys to her home, April was living in rented accommodation that she says was unsuitable.
“Before I moved in here, I had Rico in the hospital three times in two weeks with his breathing because of the mould we were living in.
“The first night we stayed here, he didn't need saline, he slept all night through, the improvement in his breathing alone has been fantastic,” she added.
“That is all I wanted was for him to have somewhere clean and healthy to grow up and this is what we have now, I keep having to pinch myself, after all these years of the social housing list, it doesn't feel real to finally have my own home.”
Meanwhile Celeste Macari says moving into his new home after 14 years on the social housing list was “like winning the lotto.”
“I still can't believe it, it's a beautiful estate and I'm delighted I have somewhere to call home after all these years,” he said.
Speaking at the opening, Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage, James Browne, TD said: “This government is delivering more social homes than in a generation. Over the last two years alone, almost 20,000 new social homes came on stream. While this progress is significant, I recognise that more needs to be done.
“This is why it’s encouraging to see that there is a robust pipeline with 22,500 social homes either on site or at design and tender stage. I would also like to commend Meath County Council for exceeding their five-year social housing delivery target and for their forward-thinking approach in acquiring land for future social housing projects.”
Speaking afterwards and when asked about the thousands of Meath residents still on the social housing list, Browne said:
“I'm very conscious of that. We've seen a significant increase in home deliveries from 20,000 to 30,000 over a number of years. We need to get to get the 50,000 60,000 now that's going to require a huge step change, and I'm making a number of key decisions already starting to do with, for example, preserving existing planning permissions across the country to get that supply increase. The only way we're going to get those homes for people is a massive increase in supply. That's my job, and I'm going to ensure that I do that.”
Cathaoirleach of Meath County Council, Cllr Sharon Tolan said: “Late last year, when we launched Meath County Council’s Corporate Plan, I emphasised the council's unwavering commitment to excellence in every priority, strategy and vision we set out. Providing high-quality homes to people was a key priority in that plan.
“I am thrilled to welcome the completion of 231 beautiful new homes in three rapidly growing areas within our county, especially considering the current national housing challenges.”
Chief Executive of Meath County Council, Kieran Kehoe said: “I am extremely proud that, in the middle of a national housing crisis, we continue to exceed national targets assigned to us at Meath County Council.
“These developments are yet another example of Meath County Council and our partners in the Department of Housing recognising our communities’ diverse needs and delivering high-quality housing solutions to meet them.
“At Meath County Council, we remain as focused as ever in making major strides to address the housing challenges for the people of Meath.”
Minister for Education and Youth, Helen McEntee TD, and Minister of State for European Affairs and Defence, Thomas Byrne TD, were also in attendance on Friday afternoon.