Immediate action sought over ‘shameful’ council-owned property in Limerick town
A CALL has been made for the local authority to pursue derelict properties under its own ownership with the same urgency it applies to derelict properties it does not own.
Councillors have called for action to be taken on a “shameful” and “disgraceful” unoccupied property that has been in the council’s ownership for a number of years.
Cllr Jerome Scanlan (Independent) told elected members in the Newcastle West Municipal District that immediate action must be taken in relation to number 20 Sharwood Estate in the town.
“The council has owned this house for years. I am asking that something be done about it. The shed at the back of it has had diapers dumped on it and rats have been seen scaling the walls.”
He stressed that a neighbour has had rubbish dumped in on her despite keeping her house “impeccably well.”
Cllr Scanlan told the meeting that another tenanant in Sharwood Estate asked to downsize a number of years ago as she lives alone. He stated that both her front and back gardens are a “total disgrace.”
He asked council officials present at the meeting if the estate management team can come in to take control. “We pursue people for dereliction, big time, and rightly so. Your department is succeeding there, but this is our own dereliction and the worst kind. It is shameful.”
Cllr John Sheahan (FG) agreed the issue must be solved and he proposed that action be taken as soon as possible.
Cathaoirleach Cllr Michael Collins (FF) suggested that if the council can’t put houses it owns into proper repair, then they should be put on the private market to house families along the way.
“They can access various grants to put those houses into repair and good use. We need to take that path. Put them on the market and let somebody buy them for good use,” he said.
A council official confirmed a design team will be in place early next year to progress improvement works at number 20 Sharwood Estate