(Cllr. Matt Carthy and former Mayor of Carrickmacross, Rose McMahon, highlighting the boarded-up houses at Cloughvalley last year)South Monaghan Sinn Féin Councillor, Matt Carthy, has welcomed the news that the government has finally agreed to live up to its commitment to allocate funding towards the completion of the Remedial Works Scheme at Cloughvalley, Carrickmacross. Cllr. Carthy, who has been campaigning for the funding for several years, said that it was a disgrace that houses had been left vacant for so long at a time when there were hundreds of people on the local authority housing waiting list.
Cllr. Carthy said: “I welcome the announcement that, finally, €2.8million has been allocated towards the demolition and rebuild of the OPD houses in Cloughvalley. I have been extremely angry with the fact that previous tenants were moved out of their homes only for the houses to be left vacant and boarded up for the past couple of years. The houses had become an eye-sore and a focal point for anti-social behaviour.
“The government’s social housing programme has become a charade. No funding is forthcoming for the purchase and building of new houses for the hundreds of individuals and families on local housing waiting lists. Instead money is being squandered on leasing programmes which will just create long term problems for the state and for local authorities. The fact that houses in public ownership had been left idle for so long just exemplified this failed policy.
“I am pleased that the government has finally released funding it had promised in 2004. I am now calling on everyone involved to ensure that the Remedial Works Scheme proceeds, and is completed, without any further delay”.
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