€300k paid out by council for renting sanitary units
By Maurice Garvey
DUBLIN City Council’s spend of over €300,000 renting sanitary units in Labre Park since 
2011 has been blasted by the Ballyfermot Travelers Action Project as a “disgraceful waste of resources.”
The units were initially installed as a temporary measure, to provide Labre Park families with running water and sanitation facilities, whilst they wait for long overdue redevelopment plans to commence at Labre Park.
However, crumbling plasterboard and exposed electrical wires in the units, have led to major health and safety concerns for residents using the facilities, which contain a shower, sink and toilet.
The local authority rent each units for a rate between €421 and €500 per month.
Up to13 units were rented from 2011 in Labre Park, with a further eight units at the site since October 2014.
BTAP Coordinator Lorraine McMahon says a lack of government funding for traveler prorgrammes nationwide, has created ongoing safety concerns for residents in Labre Park.
Ms McMahon said: “The plaster board has literally crumbled away. Sockets are hanging behind the wall. Residents fear there could be a fire when they are in the shower. Families in Labre Park have been waiting for sanitation in the homes for over a decade. These units, which were supposed to be temporary, are not fit for purpose.
“Despite this, the council continue to pay out. On what basis was the tender issued for the units, without any maintenance contract. We were told in November that it would be addressed immediately, but it’s June and nobody has been out. How can redevelopment plans be delivered when the Minister for Environment won’t deliver funding.”
Sinn Féin Councillor Daithí Doolan requested rental figures for the units at the recent Dublin South Central ACM.
Cllr Doolan said: “I have visited the units. What I saw was frightening. One unit had already caught fire. Others had naked electric wires and walls had crumbled away because of dampness.
“To pay this money for sanitary units that are not fit for use, is ridiculous and an insult to local residents, and the public who pay for the rental.”
Doolan has put in a motion for the July Dublin South Central ACM meeting, calling for the council to refurbish each unit pending the full redevelopment of Labre Park.
