Connacht Tribune
Councillors’ anger over social housing in private estate
County councillors vented their anger at a meeting this week over the local authority’s purchase of 14 houses in a private estate in Athenry for use as social housing – which neighbours claim will knock a total of €1.5 million off the value of their homes.
A clear message was delivered from Council officials – they cannot and will not engage in public consultations when buying private houses for use as social housing because they are commercial transactions requiring confidentiality.
The Council also rejected the claim that it was competing with first-time buyers for properties, stating that it queries whether offers have been made on properties by such potential buyers. The local authority said it will “withdraw” in such cases.
Councillor Jim Cuddy told the Council executive that the manner in which the 14 houses in the Lorro Gate development in Athenry were purchased was “underhand” and they should have been placed on the open market.
The matter was raised by Tuam area councillor Shaun Cunniffe said people had voiced concerns to him about the deal, including one lady who intended to purchase there, but had now decided not to.
He said that people were coming to him when a house in their estate came up for sale saying: “Please tell me the Council aren’t going to buy it.”
Cllr Cunniffe said that when a bad tenant goes into an area, there is nothing anybody can do about it.
Cllr Michael Connolly said that one of the things the Council executive is obliged to do when selling or disposing of a property is to engage with elected representatives, but there was no requirement when buying a property.
“There is a very genuine concern that properties are being devalued, and homeowners will be in negative equity as a result,” said Cllr Connolly.
Cllr Martina Kinnane said she was inundated with queries over the previous few days because of rumours that the Council is buying land for social housing in Oranmore.
“As a local councillor, I couldn’t answer them. They think I’m just not telling them. Everyone has a right to be house, but people have a right to have information,” she said.
Director of Services for Housing, Michael Owens, said the houses in Athenry were for sale as a single lot, and the local authority was therefore not competing with first-time buyers.
He said that in that instance, the only bodies which could have purchased the homes were the Council, an approved housing body with the Council’s backing or an institutional investor.
Mr Owens said housing acquisition is an executive function, and he could not engage in public commentary or debate on a purchase deal because it is a commercial transaction and he must respect requirements in terms of confidentiality.
He explained that he did not attend a meeting organised by local residents on Good Friday but outlined the Council’s position in a letter. He said locals had chosen to have legal representation, so any representation from the Council would now be through them.
Mr Owens said that other opportunities have arisen for multiple units to be purchased in single lots, and where appropriate and if the price represented value for money, the Council engaged.
“We acknowledge there are issues with antisocial behaviour. Of our 2,500 tenants, there’s a very small minority,” said Mr Owens, adding that the local authority has taken action in the past and had a number of successful outcomes in court; a number of cases are under appeal and a number are before the courts.
“It is important to note it is a very small minority of tenants [causing problems],” Mr Owens said.
Cllr Gabe Cronnelly said the houses in Lorro Gate should be allocated under an affordable housing scheme but was told there is no such scheme at the moment.
He said that when homes already allocated as social housing in the development (under Part V planning requirements from developers), 45% of the houses in the estate would be social.
“What is going on in Athenry in totally and utterly unforgivable. Why were the houses not put on the open market? First-time buyers could have gone in and bought them at the same price the Council was buying them at. This is totally underhand what’s going on here.
“Local people were prevented from buying individual houses here. They were sold en bloc. This is totally unacceptable. People who bought their houses in what was supposed to be a private housing estate have had auctioneers value them and have been told in no uncertain terms that if social housing goes ahead at the rate proposed, their houses will be devalued up to €100,000.
“This is going to put people in negative equity at a time when we’re trying to help people struggling with houses. People are genuinely fearful.
“We have a big problem. The vast majority of people in social housing are very decent people. But you will have the odd one. There is a fear factor among people that if they get an unwelcome neighbour coming into the area, they’re going to have a big problem. Their houses will devalue overnight,” said Cllr Cuddy.
Significant state investment is required to address ‘shocking’ inequalities that leave cancer patients in the West at greater risk of succumbing to the disease.
A meeting of Regional Health Forum West heard that survival rates for breast, lung and colorectal cancers than the national average, and with the most deprived quintile of the population, the West’s residents faced poorer outcomes from a cancer diagnosis.
For breast cancer patients, the five-year survival rate was 80% in the West versus 85% nationally; for lung cancer patients it was 16.7% in the west against a 19.5% national survival rate; and in the West’s colorectal cancer patients, there was a 62.6% survival rate where the national average was 63.1%.
These startling statistics were provided in answer to a question from Ballinasloe-based Cllr Evelyn Parsons (Ind) who said it was yet another reminder that cancer treatment infrastructure in the West was in dire need of improvement.
“The situation is pretty stark. In the Western Regional Health Forum area, we have the highest incidence of deprivation and the highest health inequalities because of that – we have the highest incidences of cancer nationally because of that,” said Cllr Parsons, who is also a general practitioner.
In details provided by CEO of Saolta Health Care Group, which operates Galway’s hospitals, it was stated that a number of factors were impacting on patient outcomes.
Get the full story in this week’s Connacht Tribune, on sale in shops now, or you can download the digital edition from www.connachttribune.ie. You can also download our Connacht Tribune App from Apple’s App Store or get the Android Version from Google Play.
Galway 3-18
Cork 1-10
NEW setting; new opposition; new challenge. It made no difference to the Galway minor hurlers as they chalked up a remarkable sixth consecutive double digits championship victory at Semple Stadium on Saturday.
The final scoreline in Thurles may have been a little harsh on Cork, but there was no doubting Galway’s overall superiority in setting up only a second-ever All-Ireland showdown against Clare at the same venue on Sunday week.
Having claimed an historic Leinster title the previous weekend, Galway took a while to get going against the Rebels and also endured their first period in a match in which they were heavily outscored, but still the boys in maroon roll on.
Beating a decent Cork outfit by 14 points sums up how formidable Galway are. No team has managed to lay a glove on them so far, and though Clare might ask them questions other challengers haven’t, they are going to have to find significant improvement on their semi-final win over 14-man Kilkenny to pull off a final upset.
Galway just aren’t winning their matches; they are overpowering the teams which have stood in their way. Their level of consistency is admirable for young players starting off on the inter-county journey, while the team’s temperament appears to be bombproof, no matter what is thrown at them.
Having romped through Leinster, Galway should have been a bit rattled by being only level (0-4 each) after 20 minutes and being a little fortunate not to have been behind; or when Cork stormed out of the blocks at the start of the second half by hitting 1-4 to just a solitary point in reply, but there was never any trace of panic in their ranks.
For more, read this week’s Connacht Tribune.
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GARDAÍ and the IFA have issued a joint appeal to all road users to take extra care as the silage season gets under way across the country.
Silage harvesting started in many parts of Galway last week – and over the coming month, the sight of tractors and trailers on rural roads will be getting far more frequent.
Inspector Conor Madden, who is in charge of Galway Roads Policing, told the Farming Tribune that a bit of extra care and common-sense from all road users would go a long way towards preventing serious collisions on roads this summer.
“One thing I would ask farmers and contractors to consider is to try and get more experienced drivers working for them.
“Tractors have got faster and bigger – and they are also towing heavy loads of silage – so care and experience are a great help in terms of accident prevention,” Inspector Madden told the Farming Tribune.
He said that tractor drivers should always be aware of traffic building up behind them and to pull in and let these vehicles pass, where it was safe to do so.
“By the same token, other road users should always exercise extra care; drive that bit slower; and ‘pull in’ that bit more, when meeting tractors and heavy machinery.
“We all want to see everyone enjoying a safe summer on our roads – that extra bit of care, and consideration for other roads users can make a huge difference,” said Conor Madden.
He also advised motorists and tractor drivers to be acutely aware of pedestrians and cyclists on the roads during the summer season when more people would be out walking and cycling on the roads.
The IFA has also joined in on the road safety appeal with Galway IFA Farm Family and Social Affairs Chair Teresa Roche asking all road users to exercise that extra bit of care and caution.
“We are renewing our annual appeal for motorists to be on the look out for tractors, trailers and other agricultural machinery exiting from fields and farmyards,” she said.
For more, read this week’s Connacht Tribune.
Connacht Tribune Digital Edition App
Download the Connacht Tribune Digital Edition App to access to Galway’s best-selling newspaper.
Click HERE to download it for iPhone and iPad from Apple’s App Store, or HERE to get the Android Version from Google Play.
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The Connacht Tribune Live app is the home of everything that is happening in Galway City and county. It’s completely FREE and features all the latest news, sport and information on what’s on in your area. Click HERE to download it for iPhone and iPad from Apple’s App Store, or HERE to get the Android Version from Google Play.
Families queue up for school’s offer of free house
West has lower cancer survival rates than rest
Galway minors continue to lay waste to all opponents
Gardaí and IFA issue a joint appeal on summer road safety
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