This article is from page 18 of the 2011-11-22 edition of The Clare People. OCR mistakes are to be expected so download the original SWF or the rendered page 18 JPG
THERE have been calls for greater supports to be given to residents whose lives have been made a “misery” by the behaviour of challenging families.
Officials say that both Ennis Town Council and Clare County Council work closely with the Health Services Executive (HSE), Gardaí and other agencies to deal with anti-social behaviour in estates as they arise.
The issue of problem tenants was raised at yesterday’s meeting of councillors in the Ennis West Electoral Area.
In a motion, committee chairman Cllr Brian Meaney (GP) queried, “what supports are provided to com munities outside of the RAPID area where challenging families are in rented accommodation?”
Cllr Meaney said the behaviour of “challenging residents” in private rented accommodation is a “significant issue” for Ennis Town Council and Clare County Council.
Referring to a report prepared by POBAL, Cllr Meaney said houses and facilities in RAPID areas had been subject to vandalism, fire damage while missiles had been thrown at council staff.
He also praised the work of the programme, saying that RAPID funded services had helped to “increase the neighbourhood value of estates”. Cllr James Breen (Ind) said some people are moving into estates are making other resident’s lives a “misery”.
Town clerk Leonard Cleary ex- plained that the National RAPID programme has designated six areas in Ennis town for a programme aimed at “revitalising areas by planning, investment and development”.
He continued, “Ennis Town Council through its housing department provides a service to tenants of the local authority. Some of these tenants are in estates that are not in the designated RAPID area. The housing, environment and engineering sections of Ennis Town Council actively engage with communities in these estates in order to resolve issues.”
Mr Cleary added, “In situations where there are difficulties with private rented tenants or private home owners in estates, the council works with the other appropriate public agencies including HSE and Gardaí depending on the nature of the challenge presented.”
Cllr Meaney said that while it will be “very difficult” for Ennis Town Council to deal with non-RAPID estates, “we need to find a way of dealing with it”.