Council Hits Back at Halting Site Criticism

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Cork City Council has responded to a damning report by the Ombudsman for Children regarding conditions at a halting site.

The report said the rights of children were being violated at the Spring Lane halting Site on the North side of Cork city.

In a rebuttal submitted to the Department of Housing, the council said the issues in question were "nowhere near as simple as outlined" in the report.

The council accused the report of failing to display a "complete understanding or appreciation of the complex problems and deep-rooted socio-economic issues" at play at the site.

The report claims the council has failed to improve living conditions at the site, where it says children are living in filthy, rat-infested, damp and over-crowded conditions.

The council responded by penning a six-page letter to the minister of State at the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage, Peter Burke, in which they expressed an inability to accept the findings of the report.

The needs of resident at the site have always been a priority for the council, the letter emphasised. Findings regarding waste at the site prompted the council to point out that an industrial skip was present at the site and was emptied every week.

"The council will examine whether alternative methods of refuse collection are possible on this site, with a view to reducing or eliminating illegal use of the service," the letter said.

The council went on to accuse residents of the site of failing to cooperate and threatening the safety and security of its staff.

"A level of co-operation with residents to ensure success in relation to these issues mentioned above is vital; this has not always been the case," the letter read.

Criticism around social housing prompted the council to explain how several offers of social housing had been refused by residents of the site.

The council did concede that work at the site had been delayed by weather, "security events" and lengthy court proceedings. It promised that "despite the serious challenges present", conditions would be improved at the site.
 

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