LIMERICK Council was called to investigate the living conditions of two migrant families with young children, each paying €1,600 per month – subsidised by the Housing Assistance Payment (HAP) scheme – to live in a former County Limerick abattoir.
Speaking at this week’s full meeting of Limerick Council, Fine Gael councillor Gregory Conway said he could not understand how people paying “astronomical rents” are getting HAP to live in properties in such “shameful” conditions.
Cllr Conway proposed the Council write to Minister for Justice, Home Affairs, and Migration, Jim O’Callaghan, to withdraw all planning exemptions for properties accommodating International Protection Applicants and to ensure that all properties go through the normal planning process.
“I witnessed personally how some of these properties qualify for occupancy, and I think what is happening on our watch is shameful. Some of the conditions I have seen residents living in, it’s absolute squalor. We have an application in at the moment for retention to planning in my town for an abattoir, and it is an abattoir, and there’s two families living in it,” Cllr Conway told the Council executive.
“When it comes to fire regulations, there’s nothing there. There isn’t even smoke alarms or fire exits. This particular block, which was a pub and butcher shop one time, has nine Eircodes. That’s just one example, but it’s happening all over the country.”
Cllr Conway called on the Council to investigate some of the conditions migrants are living in. Landlords, he claimed, are getting wealthy out of these “misfortunate people”.
“Not for one minute am I anti-migrant. This is for the health and welfare of these people. I think it’s a disgrace, and I think there should be something done.”
Speaking to this reporter after this month’s plenary meeting, Cllr Conway said the conditions the families at the property in Kilmallock are living in “would bring a tear to your eye”.
“You wouldn’t spend a night there. It was a former abattoir and never made for people to be living in. There’s young children there now. The building is all stone, but slabs were put up, and even where part of the roof collapsed, it’s all held together with slates and duct tape. It would break your heart,” he explained.
Cllr Tommy O’Sullivan (FG) supported the motion and took the view that there are people living in society in “horrendous conditions”. In a lot of these cases, he pointed out, tenants were being subsidised by HAP to live in these unfit habitations.
“Maybe that’s where we might be able to stop this by strengthening HAP a little bit. It’s the kids I feel sorry for, because we are putting them in there,” Cllr O’Sullivan insisted.
Independent councillor Eddie Ryan took the view that the “stark facts” outlined by Cllr Conway are not acceptable anywhere. He called for HAP to investigate these properties and to make sure they are brought up to a safe standard.
“We need to remember children in all this as well,” Cllr Ryan insisted.
Mayor John Moran added his support to the proposal and said he has had conversations with the Minister about the exemptions being applied to IPAS centres coming to Limerick. He agreed that this should be going through the normal planning process.
Cllr Stephen Keary (FG) took the view that the Council, as the lead authority of the HAP programme, needed to shoulder some of the blame. He proposed an immediate investigation be carried out in relation to the properties outlined by Cllr Conway and asked for a report to be provided to council members at their July meeting.
“I think that if there’s HAP payments being made to substandard properties, it’s fraudulent use of State money and needs to be immediately addressed,” Cllr Keary said.
Cllr John Sheahan (FG) took the view that “there’s certainly something slightly missing on this” in relation to HAP inspections.
“This doesn’t sound like an okay property, but there’s nobody calling to see is everything right or wrong on it.”