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Buncrana tenant will have
to pay up
16.11.07
A BUNCRANA Council
tenant will have to pay back some of the cost of
"excessive" repairs done to a new local authority
house.
While it is understood the tenant did have
permission for some repairs, the work subsequently
undertaken was "in excess of the normal repairs and
were not fully authorised". |
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That's according to
Donegal County Council yesterday who said an
investigation into alleged irregularities was still
ongoing.
Buncrana town manager, Liam Kelly who is also the
assistant county manager released details of an
investigation launched in August at the behest of
Cllr. Joe Doherty.
Regarding the tenant who had undertaken unauthorised
works, Mr. Kelly said "arrangements have been made
to reinstate the house and to recover part of the
cost from the tenant".
In another case, a house was purchased by the
Council without proper technical appraisal |
of the condition of the
house which required substantial work to make the
house fit for purpose.
"Work on renovation is almost complete and the house
will be available for letting in a very short time,"
said Mr. Kelly in a statement.
In the third instance, the purchase of a number of
apartments was initiated "without the normal
appraisal and contractual arrangements being met in
accordance with the Council’s requirements".
Mr. Kelly added: "Tenants were allocated these
apartments without the necessary planning permission
and conveyance to the Council of these apartments.
"The position of the Council with regard to the
purchase of these apartments is currently under
review and alternative arrangements have been made
for the allocation of alternative accommodation to
the successful applicants."
Mr. Kelly said measures would be put in place to
prevent a recurrence of the problems. Meanwhile,
Cllr. Doherty who initiated the inquiry said he was
happy with Mr. Kelly's interim report. He said some
of his colleagues had expressed concern at the
publicity Cllr. Doherty had brought to the issue.
But he said it was a matter of public interest and
he was happy that he had brought it into the public
domain, as a public representative on behalf of the
public. |
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