Fingal County Council Tells Mulhuddart Tenants: 'Pay Up or Freeze!'

From The Starry Plough
Apr. 2002

By Gerry Murray

As an I.R.S.P. member and chairperson of the Mulhuddart Residents and Tenants Association I was recently shocked to hear that the people of our area will not be getting central heating installed. Thirty six houses out of two hundred are the only ones without heating and Fingal County Council have dared to hold the families to ransom because they owe rent arrears. The legalities of such a move by the council are questionable and will be questioned.

Firstly as a member of the I.R.S.P. I can not, and will not, stand by and allow the council to walk all over us. Many of these families are single parent, widow/ers or/and unemployed which would suggest that the council are fingering the weakest and most vulnerable sections of society for special treatment which is unacceptable.

There are almost 3,000 new homes being built on our door step and the contractors, Shannon Homes and O'Connors Brothers, have not, as yet, employed any labour from the immediate area. What we would like to see is a 10% local employment clause inserted into the contract by the council, thus forcing any company successful in securing the tender to make sure that 10% those employed on the site are local people. We as a community have to endure the dirt and dust, as would be expected with any development work in any area, and are expected to sit idly by while no members of our community are offered employment and the contractors are not cleaning up as they go, as they would do if it was a middle or upper class area.

We as a community feel that enough is enough therefore we will be meeting with the site contractors to discuss the issue of local labour and any other outstanding grievances we, as individuals or a group, may have.

As well as the grievances over the building work being carried out in the area we shall be approaching the council on a number of other issues. We are a community crying out for help. Help to secure a better environment for our children so they can enjoy a higher quality of life. All we are asking for is that our basic needs are met, those being a health centre, post office, a chemist, creche facilities and changing rooms for our football teams. Nothing out of the ordinary for any community to ask for in the 21st century.

Last update: 5/9/02; 7:17:10 AM.