Galway City Council homes ‘not fit for purpose’

Galway City Council tenants are living in homes with black windows caused by mould and others  cannot use their upstairs due to the lack of a stairlift, it has been claimed.

Another tenant has moved into a caravan because he was waiting so long for work to be done.

Staff shortages were being blamed at last week’s Galway City Council meeting for long delays in carrying out retrofitting, repairs and adaptations for people with mobility issues on the Council’s housing stock.

Cllr Declan McDonnell said elderly residents were waiting up to five months for an inspection for their Council house to be retrofitted or adapted for a disability.

Some people could not go upstairs as they had no stair lift. Others were living in homes which had blackened windows due to mould caused by damp.

“The elderly of this city need a better delivery. One technician was trying to handle nearly 1,000 requests. Why aren’t we doing something about it?” the Independent representative based in Mervue fumed.

“People are getting health forms signed and not getting the work done. It’s not the fault of the unit. It’s ridiculous what’s going on.”

Cllr Alan Cheevers (FF) said some of his constituents had an initial inspection but waited up to a year to get the work done.

“These people are paying their rent for a Council house,” he exclaimed.

Councillor Colette Connolly said she was constantly hearing that projects could not get off the ground due to a lack of staff. Some residents were crying about the health effects mould was having on their children.

Cllr Niall McNelis said he had one constituent whose house had a breeze blowing right through it who was waiting over eight months for a retrofit. Another had moved into a caravan as his home was inhabitable.

Acting Director of Services for Housing, Brian Barrett, said the Council had requested additional staff for the housing unit from the Department of Housing. Once that was approved, staff would be recruited. But he admitted that a lack of staff was impacting on the delivery of housing maintenance.