A Headford Road resident whose home is to be demolished to make way for the Galway City Ring Road has told the oral hearing organised by An Bord Pleanala, that the process has left her with a worry for the last six years.
Loretta Needham told the hearing at the g Hotel that the process has left her destabilisied and demoralised amid fears that she will not be able to find a replacement home to match the quality of her current home.
“Why has our country become so callous that it has decided to demolish people’s homes? I was very happy with my life, but everything has changed. I had hoped that this road would never happen. I have long stopped bringing my car to work because there is no parking. There is no effort to make Galway more accessible.
“I live on the Headford Road and attempts to use buses have left me lucky to be alive. There are no pavements. I have to bring a change of clothes because I am walking on the muddy ditches to avoid the cars. In the cycle lanes, motorists cut across them.
“It is a loss of my base, my roots, my foundations. It is destabilising, demoralising, depressing. I cannot sleep at night. My self-esteem has been shattered. It is humiliating to think that all my belonging, all my memories will be scattered to the wind. The whole of Galway knows my business.
“I have been trolled on Facebook. I am tired and overwhelmed and this is sapping my energy and my judgement.
“So everything depends on you, An Bord Pleanala. The purpose of life has been taken from me. I worked hard all my life to pay for a house and a home. It was my pension plan.
“Now, I am too old to get a mortgage. I was never into material possessions, but my home means so much to me. I feel safe there. It has been crime free, it is a space for my animals. My whole life is shattered,” she said.
Ms Needham criticised the quality of the communications regarding this process.
“In terms of the communication, there were mountains of documentation and you would need to be an expert in this area to understand them.
“It is not real communication.”
Ms Needham went on to talk about the situation that the homeowners will find themselves in when they are left without a home.
“Where do we get property to rent? We will be competing with students. Will we get HAP to cover our rent? Will we be designated as having a housing need if we look for planning permission?”
Isolated
“I have never felt so isolated in my life. I turned on the radio and heard the Taoiseach saying he will build the bypass. There were ads in the newspapers saying the same thing.
“Will the Galway County Council provide a mortgage for the homeowners affected,” she asked, before concluding that “what has happened here is the planned ruination of a fantastic area.”
After she spoke, her sentiments were echoed by retired GP, Dr Tom Rea. He said that he had been a GP for 45 years and had studied psychiatry and took issue with some of the claims made in the impact report pertaining to the demolition of the houses.
He said that the majority of residents in the area impacted are vulnerable elderly people. Most are suffering anxiety and stress.
He criticised the level of communication and what he said were broken promises by the applicants.
“At a meeting they promised us a liaison officer who would hold regular meetings and keep us informed of what was happening at each stage. None of that happened.
“We have been told to look on the bright side, that we will find new friends and new neighbours. But this is balderdash.
“The offer that has been made to us for our houses is paltry. We would have to top up the miserable offer from our pensions to get a new house. This is not possible for every one of the families affected. Some of these familes will be left destitute. We were told that we would be able to replace like for like when we get the offer, but that is not possible with the offers that have been made.
“Untruths are being told — especially about bats. We were told here last week that they do not carry diseases. In the UK, rabies is present in bats. They are one source of the coronavirus in China. Don’t get me wrong, I love bats, but to say they don’t carry disease is a mistruth,” he added.
Dr Rea said said that he was not going to ask any questions of the Board at the hearing because he had seen that four or five experts come back to respond to the questions, and instead of using short simple language, they use the vocabulary of engineers,” he added.
