Disabled man forced to live in ‘appalling’ state

A disabled chef has been forced to live in appalling conditions in a mobile home for over four years due to a lack of funding for social housing maintenance and repairs.

Tony Moloney, 44, was forced to move into a temporary home in Clare after his mother’s house in Woodcock Hill, Meelick, burnt down on Jul 14, 2008.

Mary Moloney said her brother, who has hearing and speech problems, was living in terrible conditions. She claimed there was a vacant house in the village which could be rented to her brother if Clare County Council got more finance for housing maintenance and repairs from the Government.

“It’s a scandalous situation,” she said.

However, a spokesman for the Department of the Environment insisted it was up to the council to prioritise where its housing allocation of €5.3m was spent.

The mobile home has no proper running water, no heating and is damp during the winter with condensation running down the walls.

Ms Moloney said the family decided to speak publicly as a “last resort” because he had no quality of life. “Urgent action needs to be taken. Tony can’t afford to spend another winter in the mobile home or else his health will suffer drastically.

“A house has been vacant since January but the council says it has no money to repair it. I am calling on the minister to sanction the necessary money to facilitate repair work.”

Mr Moloney worked as a chef in the Two Mile Hotel, in Meelick, until it closed down.

Cllr Cathal Crowe (FF) blamed Environment Minister Phil Hogan for not giving the local authority sufficient money to repair 57 vacant houses in the county including a house at Kilavoher, Meelick, which could be re-let to Mr Moloney if the council had about €3,000 to spend on repairs.

Jan O’Sullivan, the housing minister, said she was concerned about Mr Moloney’s housing situation and has asked the council for an update.