Vol. 304 No. 3
asked the Minister for the Environment if he will make a comprehensive statement on a report (details supplied) on the new bathrooms provided at Garrymore housing estate, Clonmel, County Tipperary, with particular reference to cases where grants are outstanding or withheld.
430.
asked the Minister for the Environment if he will state in respect of the new bathrooms recently provided at Garrymore housing estate, Clonmel, County Tipperary, the number of tenants who applied for grants indicating in each case (i) the house number, (ii) the amount approved, (iii) the amount paid to date, (iv) the cases where grants were sanctioned but payment withheld pending the satisfactory completion of work or the remedying of specified defects and (v) the nature of the defects under (iv).
431.
asked the Minister for the Environment the number of visits made by his Department's housing inspectors to Garrymore housing estate, Clonmel, County Tipperary, in connection with the provision of new bathrooms; the dates of such visits; the most recent report in each case, indicating the house number and amount of grant outstanding; and the consultations, if any, that took place between the Department's inspectors and officials of Clonmel Corporation concerning the work.
432.
asked the Minister for the Environment if he will take steps to ensure consultations between his Department's housing inspectors and officials of Clonmel Corporation with a view to resolving the problems arising in connection with the new bathrooms in Garrymore housing estate, Clonmel, County Tipperary, and the payment of all outstanding grants.
With the permission of the Ceann Comhairle, I propose to take Questions Nos. 429 to 432, inclusive, together. Applications have been made by Clonmel Corporation under section 24 of the Housing Act, 1966, for reconstruction grants in respect of 90 houses at Garrymore, Clonmel. The house numbers are 1, 2, 5-7, 9, 11, 12, 14-17, 19-40, 42-46, 48-53, 56, 59-94, 97-99, 102-105 and 107.
Grants of £220 have been allocated in respect of each house for the provision of a bathroom and an indoor toilet. No grant has been paid so far, as an inspection made by my Department's local inspector in the week ended 13 January 1978 revealed various defects, mainly concerned with insulation and dampness.
This inspection was the only one carried out. It resulted from a request by Clonmel Corporation for payment of the grants and there was nothing unusual or secretive about it as implied in the newspaper report referred to. However, in view of the large number of houses involved and the nature of the defects, the files are now being referred to my Department's supervising inspector for consultations and a joint inspection with officials of Clonmel Corporation, who have been informed of the nature of the defects.
