Tipperary County Council told speed up renting vacant homes in Carrick

Tipperary County Council has come under fire for delays in re-allocating some vacant local authority houses in Carrick-on-Suir to new tenants.

Carrick-on-Suir's councillors Kieran Bourke (FF) told Council management it seemed to take the Council "forever" to turn around social homes in the town that became vacant and rent them to applicants from the social housing list.

He said there were three council homes in Treacy Park vacant between three and a half years and 18 months.

And there was a council house in another part of the town that was vacant five months ago and required very little renovation to be ready to offer to new tenants. "The house was immaculate when the keys were handed back but we are still waiting...", he complained

He said it seemed to take the Council "forever" to turn around these houses to get them occupied again with applicants from the social housing list. "That is frustrating and it needs to be looked at," he declared.

Cllr Bourke made his comments at Carrick-on-Suir Municipal District's latest monthly meeting where councillors were informed that 162 of the 334 social housing applicants in the District are from Carrick-on-Suir town.

Senior Executive Engineer Nicola Keating responded that the Carrick District office only handled vacant houses that required minor repairs and had only seven such premises on their books at the moment. None of these houses were vacant very long.

Director of Housing Services Clare Curley said the Council had to secure funding from the Department of Housing, Planning & Local Government for the Treacy Park housing that was vacant three and a half years.

Cllr Bourke said he was aware a contractor was ready to start work on that house in Treacy Park and he fully understood the delay in that case but two other houses in that estate were vacant two and a half years and 18 months.

Ms Curley pointed out that a working group had been set up with the Council's Housing Department with the aim of getting vacant houses rented out again as quickly as possible.