A funding allocation from Westmeath County Council of €34,000 to enable external maintenance to a number of elderly person’s dwellings in Athlone has been welcomed by local Fianna Fáil Councillor, Frankie Keena.
“Numerous houses will be covered under this initial funding allocation which will include such work as external painting, cleaning roofs and repairing gutters and downpipes.
“This year the Council has stated that they will be painting five houses in Marine View and Canal Banks house numbers 1-7 on the west side of the town. Any remaining elderly person’s houses in these areas in need of similar repairs will be included in future budgets. It is my intention to make sure that such maintenance will be carried out on all our elderly people’s dwellings throughout the town, where necessary.
“In autumn of last year, I was delighted to work with the Council in securing €30,000 to enhance the community garden in Marine View which is now substantially completed and this extra funding stream to enhance these houses for our elderly population will be most welcomed by all residents.
“This is an initiative to which I have been affording my full support in recent times as it is extremely difficult for elderly residents to carry out this type of work in their own capacity.
“It is not just so important to give these houses a facelift from a maintenance and appearance point of view but it will also raise the spirits of the residents during these difficult times,” Cllr Keena stated.
Maintenance programme a boost for residents
Cllr Keena’s thoughts were firmly echoed by his political colleague and Town Mayor, Cllr Aengus O’Rourke.
This summer, when hopefully we see Covid-19 restrictions lifted, the Council have agreed to undertake a new maintenance programme for our elderly folks living in local authority housing.
“At the Westmeath County Council budget meeting 2021, I made a strong case for Council management to set aside money to conduct a spring cleaning of these housing units. As the landlords of these properties we have a responsibility to ensure that the buildings are in good structural and physical condition.
“In previous years we have not carried out the kind of maintenance work on these buildings that we probably should have. These homes are occupied by people in their 70s, 80s and 90s and many of them don’t have families to help them to keep their property exteriors or to carry out improvements or repairs to the interiors.
“So, at the December budget meeting, I asked the Council Executive for a commitment to provide money in our 2021 budget to tackle this type of work. These residents are as reliable as the day is long, they pay their rent, they have contributed to society all their lives, its the least that we could do for them.
“It is not good enough just to leave these elderly people to their own devices when to comes to maintaining the buildings and, like all older folk they have been through an awful year.
“So, I am delighted that the Council agreed to proceed with my proposal to clean, paint and carryout any repairs that are necessary. I hope this gives our elderly residents a little boost as we approach the summer months. This work will help to brighten up these homes, and I think that this essential maintenance work is the least we could do. The first of the blocks to undergo a spring cleaning will be Marine View on the east side of our town,” Cllr O’Rourke commented.
