Galway City Council may enter derelict houses

Two developers who own three dilapidated houses in Bohermore have been instructed by Galway City Council to paint over graffiti and clean the facades.

The Council has warned they will enter the properties themselves if work is not carried out.

The houses at 5, 6 and 7 Grealishtown – opposite the cemetery – have been vacant since they were purchased by Tom and Jason McEvaddy at the height of the property boom.

Since the Tom McEvaddy Property Company Ltd (Nexus Homes) went into liquidation in September 2009, and Mr McEvaddy moved to England, the properties have fallen into disrepair.

The three properties, which are part of a terrace, were entered on the Register of Derelict Sites last October.

The Council’s Director of Services for Housing and the Environment, Joe O’Neill, placed notices on the properties two weeks ago affording the McEvaddy brothers – listed as ‘reputed owners’ – four weeks to carry out the work.

If the works are not carried out, the Council has the legal right to enter the properties to carry out the work at the McEvaddys’ expense.

Last June, this newspaper reported that the city’s Register contained a total of 15 properties, one of which was listed for more than 20 years.

Mr O’Neill explained: “The purpose of the Derelict Sites Act is to make sure the owner takes action to clean it up. We give them a reasonable period of time to take action, and we have to be satisfied with the work, or it will be added to the Register.

“We find it a most effective way of dealing with problems, and another option is to prosecute. But in most cases, the direct approach works.

“We’ve been lucky over the years that we haven’t had a huge amount of derelict sites,” said Mr O’Neill.