“He made one haunting observation that some of the children he met were as traumatised as any he had met in the most conflicted parts of the world,”
Fr Pat Hogan said. “They are the present sufferers of the community long neglected and abandoned by its own city.”
Fr Hogan said the takes no joy in accusing the council of “despising its citizens” tafelspelen als blackjack en roulette omdat je daarvoor minder bonus vrijspeel punten krijgt. and “demonizing people” in areas earmarked for regeneration.
“It is a shocking thing to write,” Fr Hogan of the Holy Family parish admitted when contacted by the Limerick Leader, “but I checked with people and asked them am I right in reflecting that, and they have said it’s absolutely true.
I don’t take any great joy in saying this but I would be negligent in my duty if I didn’t do this,” he added. “I can’t live and see this going on.”
The respected priest is appalled at the treatment of people in his parish by the council which he says failed in its duty as landlord forcing the elderly and hard-working citizens to move out of their homes because of harassment and violence.
He said the council should “ensure their tenants do not cause such havoc for others”. In his letter to the council he describes how elderly people had to leave their homes never to return and how some residents sold their houses to the council for as little as €25,000 only to become council tenants in another part of the city.
“Even though, those mainly elderly people were glad of their escape, serious questions need to be asked of Limerick City Council.”
In response, the council, however, point out that they have two staff dedicated exclusively to investigating anti-social behavior and in the past two years 525 cases have been investigated, 442 of which were resolved and 41 council houses were repossessed or surrendered. “The council is one of the most active in this area of operations in the country,” the council said in a reply to Fr Hogan’s letter.
Fr Hogan has also questioned the council’s commitment to the regeneration programme, calling for city estates due to be transformed as part of the project to be placed under the sole authority of the Regeneration Agencies.
The council strongly disagrees that it is in any way opposed to regeneration and has in fact invested considerable resources into the project.
“In excess of 11m was spent in 2007 and in 2008 the city council will spend a further €8m on regeneration. At the request of residents and individual households, these monies are being spent on house purchases to facilitate the transfer of residents, the securing and demolition of vacant properties and community works such as clean ups in areas affected by illegal dumping.”
The local authority concluded its response to Fr Hogan’s letter by stating: “We are appreciative that so many people are organizations are contributing to the regeneration of our city in such a positive and constructive fashion.”
