Call for proper inspections of homes

Navan councillor Tommy Reilly has called for stringent policing of Meath County Council's housing stock.

Speaking after last week's meeting of Meath County Council, the Fianna Fail councillor said a system of inspection headed by a ranger is required as some council tenants leave their property in an appalling state of repair.

According to Cllr Reilly, it is not unusual for Meath County Council to invest €60,000 in the repair of a local authority home, with some refurbishments costing up to €100,000.

'I've been on about this for a number of years, and I was specifically talking about our own housing stock,' Cllr Reilly said.

'They should be inspected on one hand to see how they are, but there's an awful lot of stuff that needs to be done with council-owned houses.'

Cllr Reilly confirmed that Meath County Council currently does not have a remit for the inspection of its housing stock. Introducing such a system, he said, would be a cost-efficient and proactive move.

'You see someone leaving a house and we have to spend up to €60,000 on it, a house that should be okay,' he said. 'I don't mind spending €10,000 to €20,000 on a house but we could spend up to €100,000 on a house in some instances because of the state they're left in.'

He added: 'You just wouldn't believe what has happened to some of the houses. The laughable part of it is that some of these people have even been rehoused.'