This article is from page 24 of the 2009-11-17 edition of The Clare People. OCR mistakes are to be expected so download the original SWF or the rendered page 24 JPG
A TULLA family, who bought their house in the belief that they were connected to the main sewer, have had to all but abandon their home because of the vile mess and stink in the back garden.
Stephen McDermott’s wife, seven- week-old baby and his two-year-old son have left the family home in Tulla village after their yard became swamped in raw sewage.
“We were told when we bought the house that we were connected. This started with a small blockage and we discovered then that we weren’t connected at all. Since then, the stuff has started coming up in the garden, the smell is all over the house and there’s no way the children can live here,” said Stephen.
Stephen contacted Clare County Council about being connected and, after a meeting with engineers, the council agreed to waive the connec- tion fee, but told him he would have to organise and pay for the digging up of the path and the road and their subsequent repair.
He believes this is a major prob- lem. “I agree that I should have to pay for the work that needs to be done in my own yard but to pay for the roadworks is going to cost much more than we can afford. I think it’s
ridiculous in this day and age – sani- tation is a basic human right. If this was somewhere in the third world, there would be a charity fundraising to put in a Sewerage system. Instead, we’re here with raw sewage in the garden and more scented candles go- ing than the Vatican – and the stink is still unbearable.”
But Clare County Council staff say that what the Tulla resident is being asked to do is no more than any householder would be asked if they wanted connection to the main sewer.
“The council will do the connection but the householder has to arrange for the digging and the other work. That’s normal practice,’ a spokes- man for the council’s engineering department said.
The spokesman said that the au- thority had taken the “unusual” step of waiving the connection fee of €1,135.
“We felt this was a unique situa- tion,’ the spokesman said.
But the local authority cannot take on the expenses involved with the connection, the spokesman said. “We’ll work with Mr McDermott and make the connection but he has to do the work – it is a matter of a couple of hours to do it. Any householder who wants connection to the services has to pay to do those works.”