Concerns over 'governance issues' with housing agency Respond

By Rebekah O'Reilly

A recent meeting of Athlone Moate Municipal District has heard concerns over alleged governance issues within housing agency Respond.

The issue was brought to the table by Cllr Aengus O'Rourke, who expressed his concerns in relation to an ongoing issue with vacant houses in Athlone's Sarsfield Square.

Director of Services, Jackie Finney, said she has been engaging with the Department of Housing and Respond on the issue, and had been informed that Respond was "carrying out initial surveys and costings" on the houses in Sarsfield Square.

"At this stage, I have very serious governance concerns about Respond," Cllr O'Rourke said. "They're only costing now a group of houses, some of which have been vacant for up to 15 years. That is an absolute scandal in the teeth of a housing crisis.

"Have we reported them to the housing body? Because they need to be aware of the absolute negligence in this case. The negligence comes too from the Board of Directors and the management, they are not performing in their area of core responsibility."

He continued that Local Authorities are mandated to identify and activate long-term vacant houses.

"These are under our nose, and I'm beyond furious. What can we do as a Local Authority to raise these governance concerns over a body who is armed with the responsibility to manage stock, and they're not doing it."

In response, Ms Finney said that all she is doing all she can do, and noted that "pressure is applied across the Midlands".

"The Department are taking this seriously," she said. "There's a certain amount of pressure I can apply, but they have a responsibility themselves to comply with regulations."

When asked by Cllr O'Rourke to confirm whether the houses in Sarsfield Square were registered as derelict sites, Ms Finney noted that they were not.

Cllr O'Rourke asked that they write to the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage, James Browne, on his concerns about Respond.