‘Neighbours from hell’ force 20 council tenants out
In North Cork, 20 council tenants were forced to move out of their homes because of the behaviour of “neighbours from hell.” “I presume that these people (the tenants forced to move out) are not involved in anti-social behaviour, so there are 20 families who have been living in hell and requested transfers because of their neighbours,” said Cllr John Paul O’Shea (Ind) at the Northern Area Committee meeting. Repeatedly describing the figures as “shocking”, Cllr Melissa Mullane (SF) said it meant that the council “obviously can’t cope” with unruly tenants. At that meeting, Cllr O’Shea said he was surprised that only seven transfer requests had been made on downsizing grounds, saying it was vital the council approved more of these requests in order to free up family homes. At the meting, a report was given which showed that 10 families were transferred on overcrowding grounds, 34 for medical/ compassionate reasons and 52 for “more than one reason.” Moreover, Cllr O’Shea said that what had surprised him was the fact that a further 20 requests for transfers had been approved for tenants on anti-social behaviour grounds. He said given that the council had a strong policy in place to deal with anti-social behaviour in estates, it was hard to understand why 20 families felt they had no option but to move from their homes. Cllr Timmy Collins (Ind) said he believed most incidents of trouble were caused by people, such as drug dealers, who did not live on the estates in questions, and the majority of those requesting transfers did not want to leave their homes. Cllr Ian Doyle (FF) said he believed there were just “a small few” people causing trouble and it was important the council work with estate bodies to identify them and take the appropriate action to stamp it out. A council official said that incidences of anti-social behaviour were “quite rare.”