Byrne defends Council over Gary and Rhona’s housing nightmare
Councillor Malcolm Byrne has defended Wexford County Council following harsh criticism from Gary and Rhona Breen, the family who were forced to sleep in their car after vacating their repossessed rental home in Ballycanew due to a High Court order for the repossession of the house issued against their landlord.
Cllr Byrne claims ‘there was never any need for the Breens to sleep in their car as they claimed, as the Council had secured permission with their landlord that they could stay in their existing house until new temporary accommodation was available for them.’
‘I think the family’s criticism of Council staff and the councillors was very unfair and they have not outlined the full facts of the story,’ added Cllr Byrne. ‘The Breens themselves even pointed out that the Council had even secured alternative housing for them. It was not the Council’s fault that they had to leave their existing home, yet they seem to feel the Council is responsible for that.’
Even though Cllr Byrne can understand the difficulty the Breens faced and it was a horrible situation for them, Wexford County Council housing officials ‘were working hard to resolve the situation’.
‘The family never made contact with me but I became aware of their situation from people contacting me after they posted the story on Facebook,’ said Cllr Byrne. ‘Wexford County Council did its best in the circumstances.’
Generally, Cllr Byrne does not like to comment publicly on individual cases but he thought that given the Council did their best in difficult circumstances he wanted to correct some of the misinformation.
‘As regards obtaining a permanent Council house, they will be on the housing list like far too many others and will face the same procedures, including Garda vetting,’ said Cllr Byrne. ‘Posting on social media, especially misleading information, will not change their position as regards housing.’
He added the frontline Council staff are doing their best in this current housing crisis.