RESIDENTS of Council-owned apartments on Limerick’s Shelbourne Road claim they are being ignored by the local authority’s housing department after five months of unanswered phone calls relating to anti-social behaviour.
One elderly resident at Thomond Court said he has been phoning the housing department on a weekly basis for five months but has been unable to get hold of the relevant staff member, despite leaving countless messages.
“All I get is an answering machine when I call. They never get back to me and the residents here have been left for months with a list of problems that have not been resolved,” said another elderly tenant.
“This is our last resting place, so to speak, and we want it kept nice and tidy to enjoy our last years. I have called the Housing Department at the Council at least once a week for five months now and no one ever answers. It’s always a machine”, he explained.
The residents also claim that they have been plagued with anti-social behaviour from non-residents for months, causing them great distress.
“There’s a couple of bad apples. They don’t live here. They have family members here and everyone else has to put up with their anti-social behaviour. Curtains have been ripped down and kicked all over the place. People’s windows have been spat upon. They are very sick people,” said another tenant.
“We’re not getting any help from the Council. Our apartments are only a stone’s throw from Thomond Park and we want them to look nice for the thousands of people who pass by on their way to matches. It is important for Limerick that our apartment block is maintained nicely. Other than that, we just want to live out our days in peace,” he said.
A spokesman for Limerick City and County Council commented, “The Council’s Estate Management Unit has been very active dealing with concerns raised by residents of the 19 units located within the Thomond Court development. This includes responding to any maintenance requirements and investigating reports of anti-social behaviour.
“Actions taken during recent months include the installation of CCTV within Thomond Court, at the specific request of residents. Regular meetings have been held with residents and the Council is satisfied that there are no significant outstanding matters of concern.”
“In relation to the claim that phone calls have not been returned, the Council has a policy of returning all phone calls when a contact name and number has been provided. A number of anonymous phone calls have been received in recent months which the Council has been unable to respond to”, the spokesman said.
