A woman was sleeping in an insulated shed in her backyard as it was warmer than her home which is a Kerry County Council house.
That’s according to Sinn Féin councillor Deirdre Ferris.
She raised the issue of repairs in the council’s housing stock at the recent Tralee Municipal District meeting.
Cllr Deirdre Ferris told the meeting a woman was sleeping in an insulated wooden shed in her backgarden and using a blow-heater, as it was warmer than her Kerry County Council home.
She says this is a shocking indictment on the council, is an embarrassment and isn’t acceptable.
The Tralee MD councillor also stated she was aware of homes that had tiles falling off in bathrooms, had bathrooms that weren’t fit for purpose and others that had black mould.
Cllr Ferris says she’s put in multiple requests for repairs and says nine times out of ten these requests are refused.
She says she knows it’s not Kerry County Council’s housing departments fault, but is because of a lack of capital funding to facilitate such works.
She’s calling on the MD to seek funding from the Department of Housing for kitchen and bathroom upgrades for the council’s older housing stock.
In response, the council says it has one of the largest housing stocks in the country and says works to kitchens and bathrooms in dwellings with existing tenancies and where there are wear and tear issues can only be funded by limited housing maintenance funds.
However, it says it will write to the Housing Minister Darragh O’Brien on the issue.
