‘Scandalous’ living conditions

A 44-year-old Meelick man with disabilities has been forced to live in appalling conditions in a mobile home for over four years due to the lack of Government funding for social housing maintenance.

That’s according to Mary Moloney, who has condemned the “scandalous” situation that has forced her brother, Tony, to live in a mobile home after their mother’s dwelling in Woodcock Hill, Meelick, burnt down on July 14, 2008.

She said her brother, who has a hearing and speech problem, is living in terrible conditions, despite the fact there is a vacant house in the village, which she claimed could be let to him if Clare County Council had more finance for housing maintenance and repairs.

However, the Department of Environment has deflected criticism and emphasised to The Clare Champion that it is up to Clare County Council to prioritise where its allocation of €5.3 million for its SocialHousing Investment Programme is spent.

The spokesperson outlined, “Clare County Council has advised us that the address in question [vacant house] is in an estate where there are a large number of vacant houses. Repairs costing between €3,000 and €5,000 are required prior to council re-letting the vacant properties. It is hoped that these repairs will be completed within the next six months, subject to available funding”.

Councillor Cathal Crowe claimed Environment Minister Phil Hogan has not given Clare County Council enough money to tackle the 57 vacant houses in the county, including 30 in Kilavoher.
Councillor Crowe believes a small bungalow in Kilavoher could be re-let to Mr Moloney if the council had enough money to spend an estimated €3,000.

Housing Minister Jan O’Sullivan admitted she is concerned about Mr Moloney’s housing situation and will be asking Clare County Council for an update.
“The renovation of existing housing stock forms an important part of national housing policy. Using existing vacant buildings makes sense and provides good value for money. That is why more than €5m was provided by the Government to Clare County Council this year under my Department’s Social Housing Investment Programme – a significant proportion of this money is earmarked for improving and adapting vacant council properties.
“Under housing legislation, each local authority is responsible for the management of its own housing stock. It is the responsibility of Clare County Council to prioritise works on individual properties within its current budget.
“It is important, given the serious condition of the national finances, that each local authority operates within its budget. Councillor Crowe knows that additional funding isn’t available and if he wants to know who is responsible for that, he might look a little closer to home,” Minister O’Sullivan remarked.

Describing the situation as “pathetic”, Ms Moloney claimed a HSE health inspector “would put a match to the mobile home”, if it was inspected due to health and safety defects. The mobile home has no proper running water, no central heating and suffers from dampness during the winter, with water running down the walls.

She said she had decided to speak publicly about her brother’s desperate plight as a “last resort” because he had no quality of life.
“Urgent action needs to be taken. Tony can’t afford to spend another winter in the mobile home or else his health will suffer drastically. We have had enough of it.
“Meelick people could not do enough for us when my mother, Helen, died. Tony nearly perished as well but the dog saved his life. Tragically, my mother couldn’t get out in time.
“The parish held a benefit dance in The Greenhills Hotel and got a mobile home for Tony. However, this was only meant to be a temporary arrangement,” she said.

Mr Moloney worked as a chef in The Two Mile Hotel until it closed down and hasn’t been able to secure other catering employment.

In a letter to Minister Hogan last week, Councillor Crowe requested the minister to allocate additional funds to Clare County Council to reduce the number vacant housing units in the county.
Councillor Crowe claimed that current funding only allowed the council to refurbish or reallocate a quarter of these vacant houses. He claimed that if the council had the necessary €3,000 to carry out minor refurbishment works to the house in Kilavoher, it could be reallocated to Mr Moloney.
“If Clare County Council had been in a position to refurbish this house and allocate it to a new tenant six or seven months ago, the authority would have, by now, recouped the refurbishment costs from rents,” he claimed.

Stressing this example is replicated several times all over the county, he stressed extra Government funding would allow the council to renovate more local authority houses and re-allocate them to those who desperately need them.