Serious concern over rat infestation at seven homes in Tipperary estate
Cllr Jim Ryan raised concerns over rat infestations at the July Thurles district meeting
Thurles councillor Jim Ryan has called for urgent action to tackle what he described as a “serious rat infestation” in a local housing estate.
At this month's meeting of Thurles Municipal District, Cllr Ryan said he had been contacted by residents from seven homes in a Thurles estate who reported rats entering their properties, particularly those at the rear of the estate.
He said residents had contacted both Tipperary County Council and the HSE but had been passed between the two agencies, with neither taking responsibility for the issue. Calling for an immediate investigation, Cllr Ryan said the situation was unacceptable, particularly given concerns for young children living in the estate.
Addressing council officials from the council’s housing section who were present at the meeting, he asked for clarification on which agency was responsible for dealing with the infestation and called for an inspection of the estate to determine the source of the problem.
"If it's a case that a house within the estate is not disposing of the rubbish, can some sort of survey be carried out as soon as possible?" he asked.
He said the complaints could not be dismissed as isolated incidents, noting that seven separate households had reported the same problem.
"With the good weather, it's not nice for young children going out and seeing rats all over the place," he said.
"I would say something if it was just one or two houses reporting the issue but when seven houses come and state that there's rats coming into the back of our houses, I think that's a serious issue."
Responding on behalf of the council, Housing Officer Gillian Barry said she would raise the matter with the relevant council officials and confirmed she would engage with the council's Community Needs Officer to establish the current position. She said the local authority would work to find a solution, including liaising with the HSE if necessary and undertook to report back to Cllr Ryan once further information was available.