Homeowners been to ‘hell and back’

Three homeowners who haven’t lived a day in their new houses have been to “hell and back” according to one of the organisers of a demonstration held in Killaloe on Tuesday.

 

Michelle Burke and William Buck are spending almost €1,400 on mortgage payments and rent every month, despite buying a house at Ard na Deirge, Killaloe, on September 7, 2006.

They staged a protest with family and friends outside the main entrance to the estate, where they were joined by father and son, John Ryan Senior and John Ryan Junior, Castleconnell, who also can’t access their two completed houses in the ghost estate.

Carrying placards citing “we want our services” and “call in our bond”, speakers urged Clare County Council to call in the €494,000 bond attached to the original planning permission in 2004 to facilitate the connection of electricity and other services to the three completed houses.

The ongoing difficulties facing the three home-owners was discussed at a meeting on Wednesday, which was attended by director of services, Ger Dollard, Killaloe Electoral Area chairman Michael Begley and Michele Burke and William Buck.
Ms Burke said the couple didn’t take the decision lightly to discuss their difficulties publicly but felt they had no other option. She stated they have received an enormous level of support from the public.

She said the three homeowners have been to “hell and back” over the last seven years.
“If you buy a car, before you put a key in it, you have to tax and insure it. Clare County Council required the developer to tax this site in the form of local development levies, which were paid up front to the council before a block was touched.

“A substantial amount of money was paid in development levies. After that, they also had to ensure an insurance bond was in place in the event the developer goes into financial difficulties, the council has money there in order to go in and finish the development.

“We went to the council in 2010 and asked them to call in the bond on this development. The builder had gone into receivership in December 2009. At no time did the council, after that initial meeting, liase with us.

“The council has allowed AIB to sell this development to someone who has advised us through a third party that they have no intention to finish this estate in the near future,” she claimed.

“This is detrimental to us. We stand every day and look at a house we pay €1,400 a month between rent and mortgage, yet no one is helping us.

“We are planning to go in there as soon as possible and no one is going to stop us.

“We want our bond to secure our services. We want to be able to flush our toilets and walk up there at night. It is a very eerie place to walk up to, even during the day. We can’t take this any more. We have never lived a day in our house.”

John Ryan Senior said what is most annoying is the powers given to big institutions, like the banks. “It is very difficult for us to get justice. We are talking about a bank that locked us out of our own property, while we are the taxpayers that have bailed them out. It is crazy. It is terrible we had to go to the press to try and get justice.”

The families are planning to stage a protest outside the offices of Clare County Council next week, if matters are not resolved.

Councillor Cathal Crowe, the only public representative that attended the protest, has tabled a motion asking county manager Tom Coughlan how he proposes to deal with unfinished estates where certain difficulties arise.

These include the expiry of developer bonds, the sale of an overall development site despite a number of houses being owned by private individuals and homeowners who are unable to take up residency of their properties because they are not connected to utility and sanitary services. Councillor Crowe has established that the bond is still in place for Ard na Deirge.

Speaking of the meeting with council officials, Ms Burke described it as “constructive” and noted council officials are willing to work with the affected parties to try to come up with a solution.