Apartment block likened to ‘modern-day tenement’
THE communal areas of an apartment block in Killinarden have been likened to a “modern-day tenement” by a local councillor.
There have been issues with anti-social behaviour in the stairwells and walkways in the Mount Seskin Court apartment block for several years, and the topic was brought up again at a recent Tallaght Area Committee meeting.
Cllr Mick Duff (Ind) said that a prospective council tenant who was on the housing list was offered an apartment in the block by South Dublin County Council, and they encountered “deplorable conditions”.
Cllr Duff told The Echo: “A family on the housing list was offered accommodation in the apartment block, but it was unsuitable for them.
“When they went to view the apartment, they were horrified by the environment around it. The exterior was in a deplorable state.
“There was water running down the stairs, gangs of people gathering in the stairwell, and the view from the apartment was looking into the storage and waste area at the back of Centra.
“It was an awful vista altogether.”
While the condition of the apartment unit itself wasn’t an issue, Cllr Duff said it was of an unsuitable size for the prospective tenant so they turned it down, and he was concerned about the maintenance of the communal areas.
An urgent inspection has been requested for the apartment block at Mount Seskin Court
According to Cllr Duff, three of the apartments in the block house council tenants, while the rest of the units are largely privately rented.
The issue was raised by Cllr Duff at Monday’s monthly meeting of the Tallaght Area Committee, where he requested an “urgent inspection” of the apartment block, after the prospective tenant had sent him “photographs and videos of what can only be described as a modern-day tenement”.
He said: “I felt compelled to ask the council how come we are putting people in this apartment block.
“The exterior of it is appalling – the paintwork is flaking, and it just doesn’t look like a very edifying place to live in.”
Cllr Duff added that the anti-social behaviour that occurs at the apartment block isn’t coming from the tenants in the apartment block, and he believes that it’s coming from “local youths”.
“There’s a lot of messing and drug-taking in the stairwell,” he explained. “We need to have a serious conversation with the management company…otherwise this will get seriously out of hand.”
The Echo understands that the Killinarden Property Management Company is responsible for the maintenance of the communal areas of the block, but attempts to contact them have been unsuccessful.
South Dublin County Council was contacted for comment, but a response wasn’t received in time for print.
