Limerick Council urged to maintain rodents away from derelict houses

The RAT was asked to clear and maintain gardens in abandoned houses in its possession – to prevent rodent infestation.

Sinn Fein councilor Sharon Benson saw a motion at this month’s metropolitan district meeting asking the agency to clear and maintain the gardens of units that have been vacant, especially for long periods of time.

“This is to ensure that vacant lots are not overgrown or infested by rodents,” she said.

“It’s bad enough that we have houses that have been boarded up for three years or more, but at least and out of respect for the neighbors on neighboring properties, the local council must take care of the gardens to ensure that they are not overgrown, contaminated, or from Rodents are infested. Some vacant properties have become attractive places for illegal dumping and the local council needs to monitor their vacant housing stock to make sure this doesn’t happen, ”said Cllr Benson.

In a written response, Aoife Duke, the director of housing, outlined a number of actions the agency is taking.

This includes obtaining approval from the Department of Housing to finance renovations and handing houses over to housing associations to complete the work and bring the houses back into service.

In addition, the local council will also consider current-condition sales to those who qualify for affordable housing.

“If houses remain in our possession, we will endeavor to maintain the appearance of the houses in order to avoid the problems identified. When people see problems, we ask them to bring them to our attention so that we can focus on the matter, ”she added.