‘Jaw-dropping’ damage to some Tipperary council houses, meeting hears
The state that some Tipperary council houses are left in when tenants move out is “jaw-dropping,” according to one of the local authority’s district engineers.
At the February meeting of the Thurles Municipal District, independent councillor Jim Ryan raised the issue of a vacant council house in Littleton, calling on the council to do something about it as criticism was spreading on social media.
"There’s one vacant council house at the moment in a deplorable state and it was spread all over social media actually last week. The house in Derrynaflan Avenue in Littleton, every window is broken, the glass is on the footpath and locals put posts on social media last week asking what was being done by the council,” Cllr Ryan said.
"We can’t leave it the way it is at the moment, do we have any plans to board it up or do something with it?” he asked.
In response, district engineer Thomas Duffy said that councillors would be shocked if they saw the states some houses were handed back to them in, and added that they might consider adding photos of damage done to properties to reports to get across the situation.
"We might circulate photographs to yourselves just to see what we’re facing into on some of our housing stock, it’s quite jaw-dropping. And the expectation of what the council themselves, and the councillors have mentioned that you’d like a bit more input into our housing and how we’re working through them and how long it takes, and maybe give you an example of houses we’re working on,” Mr Duffy said.
"The houses in Littleton are an extreme case as to the condition that it’s in and the amount of money we’ve spent to date in trying to board that up and trying to secure it, but also, how far we have to go to try and get contractors in.
"There is an end in sight, but it’s very challenging for operatives, and to get contractors of that scale because of the scale of works involved on those houses,” Mr Duffy explained.
"It’s really disheartening to see the houses that are returned to us in the state that they are returned to us,” he added.
Fine Gael councillor Willie Kennedy said that the illusion that there is no consequences for people who destroy council houses means that it will keep happening.
"The problem is, there is no consequences for somebody who destroys a council house,” he said.
Interjecting, the district Cathaoirleach, Cllr Peggy Ryan said that Cllr Kennedy’s claims were “broad,” and that the council is willing to take people to court for damage to properties.
"That’s probably a broad statement, Cllr Kennedy. There’s a timeline that we don’t agree with, but just for clarity, there are consequences,” Cllr Ryan said.
"There’s things that happen in relation to court cases,” she added.
Cllr Kennedy said that someone from the local authority should keep on top of the condition of houses, which would spot problems before they escalate too far.
Mr Duffy explained that resources within the council would be too stretched for this, adding that the situation is a “vicious circle”.