Electricity shortcomings in Portlaoise see up to 80 newly built homes lying vacant
Having received an initial move in date for last April, they are now being told it may be December – or even later.
The developer, Hollybrook, submitted the connection application for Sandwood estate in the Co Laois town to ESB last year.
However, the ESB has cited capacity issues at the local substation in Portlaoise as the reason for the ongoing delay.
It adds to infrastructure woes facing Government politicians, with Taoiseach Micheál Martin and senior ministers regularly raising similar capacity issues with water connections as one of the big blocks facing housing over the past six months since returning to office.
A number of families told
The Journal
that they had already sorted school places in the town for their kids for September but are now having to reverse those plans.
Others are having to reapply for their mortgages and Help to Buy loans due to the time delay, while one new homeowner said the delays mean he's facing 'losing €400 a month' by having to pay rent elsewhere for the rest of the year.
A graphic from the website for the new development.
Hollybrook
Hollybrook
Andrew Dollard, a welder living in the town, said it has been a 'horrible' experience for him and his wife, who are waiting to move into the bigger space with their two infant children.
Several of the homes went sale agreed at costing around €490,000.
'We're after pumping every penny that we have into a house and we can't even get in,' Dollard told
The Journal
.
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'We initially were told that we'd be in the house for January 2025,' the 38-year-old said, explaining that the date kept getting pushed back.
'It became July, September and December. And at this point I don't even think it will be December.'
Kaushik Bhaskaran, a software developer who is currently renting a property in Limerick with his young family, said April was the date provided to him for moving in.
'I thought, okay, there is usually a two-month delay with these things and that's fine, but I'm now being told December. But there's no certainty in that,' he said.
'For me and most of these people it's our first house and we've worked hard to save up for these houses. I had booked sofas, beds, furniture for the house and now the company is telling me that I have to get that delivered, the time is up. I'm at a deficit of €6,000 – do I have to put that into storage? It's just so much pressure.'
A kitchen inside one of the newly built houses.
Dollard said that the home has 'everything done' and just needs the ESB connection. 'It has the doors, the windows, the floors, the tiles, the bathrooms, the kitchen. There's nothing else left to do only turn a light switch on, but we can't turn the light switch on.'
He added: 'I can't fathom how Ireland is supposed to be one of the richest countries in the world, but yet we're waiting a year to get transformers brought into the country.'
Raised with Housing Minister
Sinn Féin Senator Maria McCormack raised the issue at this week's Oireachtas Housing Committee where she described the situation as 'completely unacceptable' to Housing Minister James Browne, who said he would examine the issue.
McCormack also raised concerns that ESB's planning and capacity estimates were based on 'outdated figures' from the Department of Housing, failing to reflect the reality of Laois's growing population and housing needs.
'Portlaoise is a rapidly growing town. We are taking the overspill from the cities as a commuter belt county, but we are not being prioritised when it comes to critical infrastructure like power and water,' she said, blaming 'years of poor planning and a lack of investment' in key services in smaller counties like Laois.
The ESB was contacted for comment and did not respond in time for publication.
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