Residents furious after fire starts in boarded-up house
By Mary Dennehy
A FIRE in a boarded-up house in Tallaght last week has sparked anger among some residents, especially in light of the homeless crisis.
Dublin Fire Brigade responded to a house fire in a boarded-up house in Raheen on Monday night, July 2, with units from Tallaght and Dolphin’s Barn preventing the blaze from spreading to adjoining homes.
Raheen house fire
According to DFB no persons were reported at the fire, which was “well-developed” when crews arrived.
The fire has once again highlighted the dangers posed by vacant houses to those living in close proximity, alongside raising questions around the presence of vacant properties during a housing crisis.
South Dublin County Council has confirmed to The Echo that the house is not part of local authority stock, and is in private ownership.
The council was unable to confirm how many private homes are currently boarded up across the area, however there are five houses on the derelict sites register.
Not on the derelict register
The boarded-up house that went on fire in Raheen is not on the derelict register.
“There are no open derelict files on our databases in the Raheen estate in Tallaght and no recent enquiries regarding Raheen,” a council spokesman told The Echo.
“There are currently five residential properties in the Tallaght area on the Derelict Sites register.
“The Council continues to operate under the provisions of the Derelict Sites Act 1990 and, where considered appropriate in terms of both location and value for money, properties may be acquired to take into council stock for refurbishment and reallocation.”
South Dublin County Council currently has close to 10,000 properties in its stock, with 48 units currently vacant across the county.
The local authority’s vacant property figure is the lowest among council’s nationwide, per percentage of properties.
“Currently we have 48 vacant units through the county in various states of re-let works,” the council spokesman said.
“While they are vacant to enable the works to be undertaken, a number of them would have been allocated to families and they are awaiting completion of the works to move in.”
It takes the council, on average, nine weeks to get a house ready for a new tenant.
