Arklow houses in appalling condition

December 1983

Arklow Urban Councillors are seeking to inform the Department of the Environment about the appalling condition of council houses in the town.

A motion to move a section 4, instructing the County Manager to advise the Department of the bad state of council houses, has been tabled for the next meeting by Councillor Denis Kinsella.

The spark that ignited the anger of councillors over housing repairs was the Marian Villas scheme, about which Labour councillors Paddy Kavanagh and Sean Wolohan had a motion down dealing with repairs.

Councillor Kavanagh felt it was a disgrace that the council had to provide so much money every year for house repairs.

He said that many of the councillors pointed out the defects to those houses before the 12 month defects liability period was up.

He did not mind having to spend money on the repair of old houses but having to repair houses which were only five to six years old was another matter.

He said that the rumour in the estate was that only so many houses in the estate were going to be repaired, while the residents felt that every house needed to be done. He thought it a pity that the architect did not visit every house in Marian Villas.

Electrical wires, dry lining, rain coming in through windows, wrong doors and wrong types of paint used were some of the defects catalogued by the councillors.

Cllr SEan Wolohan, who seconded the motion, felt it was very unfair to ask the council to foot the bill for something that was not their fault.

Councillor Paddy Wadden was not pleased with the state this scheme was allowed to reach. He did not know why the defects were allowed to go on so long. He said that people who purchased these houses in good faith were going to end up with extra expense.