Council to target nuisance neighbours

WATERFORD City Council is to employ an anti-social behaviour officer in its housing department by the end of the year because of the level of complaints against noisy neighbours who create a nuisance to others from local authority homes.

A special planning committee within the local authority is also putting the finishing touches to a formal anti-social behaviour policy for the city council. It expects to finalise its plan and bring it before the authority in October.

Waterford City Council, like all other local authorities, has a problem dealing with the behaviour of a minority of its tenants, Director of Housing and Corporate Affairs, Paddy Power, said.

“We have two tenant liaison officers. When we get complaints, we log them. Once we verify that the complaint is genuine, we then set in train a series of procedures.

“Typically we either call out to the house, or write and ask them to come in.

“If there is a reoccurrence, we proceed to the next step. A warning letter is then sent. If that does not suffice, we go to court. But this can be fraught with difficulties - we need sound evidence that a judge is prepared to accept.

“Over the past few years, we have had to serve some notices to quit. In some situations, the situation improves. In others, once it goes to court or summonses issue, the situation improves.”

The council has been awarded grant aid to pilot an anti-social behaviour section and have it manned by an officer.

It is hoped that this position would be filled by the end of the year.

But local city councillor, John Halligan, says he’s inundated with complaints from people every day of the week.

“We have to make the gardaí do their job too. If someone is breaking the law, the gardaí have to be informed. It’s no longer acceptable that the gardaí would say it’s not a matter for them.

“If it’s a local authority house, then the local authority has to take responsibility. But they are not doing this. They are not evicting people. They have given up on it in my opinion. We have gardaí and we have the law but it must be applied.”

The Tenancy Board should also be contacted where there are problems with people in rented accommodation, not associated with the local authority, he suggested.