Dear Editor,
I wish to respond to the anonymous letter published in the Independent of 12 December, 2007 regarding Galway City Council's housing policy. Firstly, like your letter writer, the majority of City Council tenants are also law-abiding and hard-working taxpayers. The number of Council tenants "who never worked a day in their life and never will" is only a small minority of the total.

Secondly, literally thousands of City Council tenants have lived in this city for many years, paying their rent, getting on with their lives and respecting their neighbours and their community. For our part, Galway City Council expects no less of its tenants and is more than capable of taking effective action against anyone who breaches their tenancy agreement.

Thirdly, it is precisely by buying houses in areas across the city that we will avoid the fear that the letter-writer expresses regarding areas being turned into ghettos. By avoiding policies which will segregate and divide communities, the City Council is showing that it cares for all of its citizens.

Joe O'Neill,
Director of Services Housing
and Corporate Services,
Galway City Council.

Comments (0) »

Show/Hide comment form

Name

Email

Title

Comment

Write the displayed characters

Add Comment