Co. Tipperary family is considering handing back their council home because of noisy neighbours

A Carrick-on-Suir family is considering handing back their rented council house because they are suffering such misery due to the anti-social behaviour of their neighbours, the monthly meeting of Carrick-on-Suir Municipal District councillors was told. 

Carrick-on-Suir Fianna Fail councillor Kieran Bourke highlighted the distress this family was suffering from neighbours, who are also council tenants,  at the meeting in Carrick-on-Suir Town Hall, 

He  bluntly told council management they weren't doing enough beyond token gestures to help tenants who are the victims of anti-social behaviour. 

Cllr Bourke told The Nationalist the nature of the anti-social behaviour in the case he highlighted at the Muncipal District meeting was excessive noise at night.   

At the MD meeting, he  complained  that while the council's Tenant Handbook was very detailed and covered anti-social behaviour, it didn't translate into action from the local authority. 

"This family is  experiencing unbelieveable distress on a nightly basis from these  neighbours who are existing tenants of ours,"   

"Each time they make a complaint, to be fair, the council official in the Housing Department logs it and is very understanding but nothing is being done.

 “There is no end result even though it clearly states what should happen in the Tenancy Handbook. 

"I think it's time we stepped up to the mark and did something about this. This particular family, who go out to work each day,  are actually thinking of handing back the house because their life is such a misery." 

Cllr Bourke appealed to the Housing Department to do something to help them and pointed out he has advised the family to start making their complaints in writing. 

Jim Dillon of Tipperary Co. Council's Housing Department said he took Cllr Bourke's point in relation to anti-social behaviour by tenants and assured him the Council was "ramping up its reaction" in these cases.

 He  requested Cllr Bourke to talk to him  after the meeting about the case he highlighted. 

Mr Dillon  pointed out  the gardai have a role to play in anti-social behaviour cases. "If anti-social behaviour is going on the gardai should be aware of it," he said.