Carrick Sheltered Housing was established in 2000 as an independent living facility to cater for the housing needs of the local community of southwest Donegal, specifically for those identified in need of housing where there is old age, homelessness, dependency and underlying health issues, mental and or physical.
The inspiration in founding the sheltered housing was the brainchild of Fr. John Gallagher from Ardara who was Parish Priest in Kilcar throughout the 90’s and served in the parish with distinction for 15 years. Fr. John must be credited with his immense foresight and determination in his endeavours, and indeed they have come to bear fruit in what is an excellent service and facility to have in the area. Fr. Eddie Gallagher oversaw the running of the Sheltered housing in his time and provided immense support to residents and families alike especially during covid.
We also remember fondly the dedication and hard work of the late Rose Byrne, Roxborough who was pivotal to the support of the residents in Carrick especially during covid.
CSH currently have three dedicated staff on site, Martin Hegarty is Residential Services Manager, Michael Breslin in Maintenance and Support, with Patricia McGinley at Reception and House services all of whom must be credited with excellent support to the facility. Additional resources are supported through the excellent work of the parish office secretary Kathleen Shovlin, and also from accountants, auditors and legal services.
Fr. Willie Peoples provides pastoral care and attention to the residents on a frequent basis and is an endless source of support to both the residents, the Management team and board.
The facility has 10 one bed houses and 1 two bed house. We currently are at full capacity with our one beds – our last resident was appointed in December 2023.
We work closely with Donegal County Council’s housing office who after assessing a Social Housing Support application, will nominate candidates to Carrick. The council, as a result of Capital Assistance Scheme funding in 1999, have 75% nomination rights over the houses in Carrick, the management at the sheltered housing retain 25% nomination rights. These are nomination rights only and confer no other rights other than those outlined under CAS, i.e. that all candidates are approved by DCC housing office. We also receive significant support and direction from local bodies such as from the DLDC, and indeed valuable support from the local community councils and voluntary organisations. We wish to recognise all of the local community organisations, voluntary groups and committees who have raised money locally and who have donated to Carrick Sheltered Housing. It is a not-for-profit organisation with charity status and such funds are always greatly appreciated and most welcome.
As a landlord, the sheltered housing also works with the various statutory bodies including the RTB (Residential Tenancies Board) with whom we have all our tenancies registered and AHBRA (Approved Housing Body Regulatory Authority). Recently we have brought together a new board of directors to oversee the functioning of the facility. The directors are representative of the area for which the sheltered housing largely caters for but not exclusively confined to any one area or region. They are from Glencolmcille, Kilcar and Killybegs. The newly appointed directors are experienced in business, in management and working with various state organisations such as the HSE and Tulsa to name a few. They bring a great energy and enthusiasm to the project. The new board will greatly assist the management in the day to day running of the facility. We hope to issue an official release on the confirmed appointees to the board in due course.
Much of the initial work at the CSH was to meet legislative and statutory requirements, under RTB guidelines and indeed those commitments given under CAS funding to Donegal County Council to build Carrick Sheltered Housing. We are delighted to report that these commitments have been met to the satisfaction of all interested parties, we continue to build upon them and we continue to work closely with our partners in housing.
Our day-to-day operations also involve interaction with charitable organisations such as ALONE who support individuals who may feel lonely or suffer from anxiety or depression, and also POBAL who support the SAS system, the Seniors Alert Scheme. This system will issue an alert and trigger a call from a dedicated call centre in the event of a fall. The individual can activate a neck pendent or wrist button to raise the alarm with a named contact. The ALONE telephone service is excellent and greatly supports those living on their own. ALONE also assist in small aids to those residents living on their own who would benefit from technological advances in their homes. Recently we received funding under AGE & OPPORTUNITY. This grant aid is to assist residents in group physical activities and mental activities, helping with interaction and community mindfulness and wellness.
The most significant grant aid received in 24 years at Carrick Sheltered Housing is the ongoing SEAI works, which are 100% funded under SEAI. This work is being carried out under the SEAI Communities Energy Grants scheme. The total cost of these works is estimated at €220,000 across 11 Houses.
In order to make the dwellings heat pump suitable, the following work is required as identified by the BER technical assessment:
· New A rated windows & doors (minimum u value 1.4)
· Attic insulation
· Cavity wall insulation which entails pumping walls with bead insulation
· Fully installed air to water heat pump
We would like to extend hearty happy birthday wishes to both John Sheridan from Bruckless and Killybegs who celebrated his 84th birthday on August 15th and also to Nabla Diver who celebrated the milestone birthday of 105 years young on September 11th. Happy Birthday John and Nabla!
We would encourage potential candidates or families who may wish to enquire on behalf of a family member that may be considering Carrick Sheltered Housing as an independent living solution, for now or in the future, to complete the Social Housing Support form which is available from our offices.
We can be contacted on 074 9739015, Martin Hegarty on 0851272679 or
Nabla Diver, Shannagh who recently celebrated her 105th birthday
