Tenant told no funding for kitchen upgrade

A Reask Drive resident, who has lived in the estate for 27 years, is appealing to Meath County Council to upgrade her kitchen because it is in a very poor condition. Patricia Slevin is a tenant of the council and moved into her home in Reask Drive when it was newly-built. Ms Slevin said there was just a sink with a cupboard underneath it when she moved in but she had put in a second-hand kitchen at the time. However, this kitchen is now in a very poor state and Ms Slevin is appealing to the council to upgrade it. She has applied to have it done every year since 2009 but had been told there is no funding available. Ms Slevin said she has paid her rent on time for 27 years and was on disability benefit herself. She is waiting to go on invalidity benefit and cannot afford to have the work done. There was also a recent issue with a leaking water valve which was repaired by the council last week. A year ago, Ms Slevin also had the council up to look at the leak and sealant was put on the valve but Ms Slevin said it continued to leak and the floor under the lino in her kitchen was all black because of it and the bottom of the press is also rotten. Ms Slevin said she first rang the council in 2009 to see about getting her kitchen upgraded but was told the funding was gone and to apply again in 2010, which she did and again in 2011 and 2012. She said a housing official inspected her kitchen in April of last year and said she was entitled to an upgrade, but that there was no funding to do it. When Ms Slevin phoned the council in January 2012, she said she was told straight away that there was no funding. "I'm on disability benefit and waiting to go on invalidity benefit. I can't afford to do it myself," she said. The council said emergency complaints and urgent complaints are dealt with first from the council's housing maintenace budget and if there is funding available towards the end of the year, routine maintenance work is carried out. The works to upgrade Ms Slevin's kitchen would fall into the routine maintenance category. The counci l said: "The issues raised by the tenant are currently being examined by the council's technical team. Further contact will be made with the tenant on completion of this examination."