Pensioners living in very poor conditions in some of the most rundown estates in Sligo have been left to endure another winter without any central heating despite funding being approved last June for heating to be installed in their houses.
The Department of the Environment confirmed that approval was given to Sligo Corporation in June to use £129,300 from internal receipts to install central heating in the 114 houses affected.
However, central heating has been installed in only five of the houses because the corporation decided to run a pilot scheme this winter to determine how much the new electric heating systems would cost to run.
Many of these elderly people are living in poor conditions, a situation they find all the more difficult to accept when they are constantly hearing the State is awash with money.
During the coldest weather many have to sleep on sofas in their living rooms, heated either by an open fire or an electric bar heater, because their bedrooms are so cold. Taking a bath is out of the question because the bathrooms are freezing. And the situation is made worse by the fact the houses are often badly insulated, and doors and windows are either poorly installed or rotting.
Sligo Corporation's housing officer, Mr John Moran, said it was decided to have a pilot scheme because of "a lot of apprehension" about running costs. At the end of the winter, discussions will be held with the five pensioners who had heating installed and a decision will be taken on the best way to proceed.
This decision has outraged people who were involved in lobbying for the funding to be provided. They point out that given the conditions they endure, some of the pensioners might not be alive next year. It is also argued that the cost of running a heating system in any house can generally be estimated fairly accurately.
Mr Jim Lawlor, a Progressive Democrat who ran in last year's local elections, said he had asked the Minister of State, Mr Bobby Molloy, to approve the funding and was now amazed it had not been used.
"The corporation submitted an estimate based on tenders they received for the work to be done in the 114 houses and that was accepted by the Department. I can't understand why they are not moving on this quickly, as the cost of doing the work will only go up in another year," Mr Lawlor said.
On the poor state of repair of the pensioners' houses, Mr Moran admitted the corporation receives a volume of complaints - 40 per week or 2,000 in a year - that it has not been able to deal with. The corporation has about 780 rental properties, but with a budget of £345,000 for repairs, that allows only £440 per house per year. He said at the last check two thirds of the complaints had been attended to and they were "endeavouring to streamline" the system.
A large proportion of these complaints relate to older housing stock, yet the corporation has not been accessing grants available from the Department for the complete refurbishment of older houses. Mr Moran accepted this was because there had been "a problem of resources" as only one technician was employed by the corporation to carry out surveys and submit schemes.
He said it had now been decided to bring in outside consultants to speed up this work.