Council criticised on charges

Fingal County Council was accused of attempting to impose privatised service charges through management companies for people in social and affordable housing.

Socialist Party Councillor Ruth Coppinger said residents in a Mulhuddart social and affordable housing estate were being charged from €400 to €520 a year for services such as grass cutting and maintenance of open areas.

Speaking at the end of the party's annual conference in Navan, she said that "a millionaire in Castleknock does not have to pay the council to cut the grass but a person living in Mulhuddart on a council estate is expected to pay for the same service".

She added that "these are not posh apartment blocks or gated communities in Dublin 4 with a bunch of yuppie accountants, but ordinary common or garden houses", with people on low incomes.

Cllr Coppinger is a resident of Castlecurragh estate in Mulhuddart where, she said, Fingal County Council had contracted a management company to run the estate.

Some 500 of the 700 homes are social and affordable housing units offered to people on average industrial wages or less.

When the owners bought their houses they had to pay two years of charges up front.

"Legally I'm not accusing the council of doing anything underhand, but when people were buying their homes they had little choice but to sign, if they wanted an affordable house," the Socialist Party Cllr said.

Now they have to pay the charges annually and received their first bills at Christmas. It is understood that the majority of owners refused to pay and that the private management service company pulled out of the arrangement.

Cllr Coppinger commended the council for doing more than other local authorities to create social and affordable housing but said they were negating this by setting up management companies for this.

She claimed the council was now "happily setting up private management companies where the council will never have to do anything for that estate, short of switching on the lights".

Residents plan to hold a public meeting on Saturday week. Cllr Coppinger called for the council to meet residents to properly discuss the issue.

Attempts to contact the council for comment were unsuccessful over the bank holiday weekend.