Tipperary county Council contractors have repaired the waste treatment station at the Glen Court Housing Estate in Emly. The residents had appealed for assistance after the pumping station failed on October 13th causing sewage to build up in the system causing a foul odour and putting some toilets out of operation in resident’s homes. Fifteen loads of waste were removed from the Emly estate and taken to the Thurles waste treatment plant for disposal on Monday (October 23rd) and Tuesday(October 24th) of this week. The pumping station was made operational although the contractor advises that the station is not adequate for the estate.
The matter was discussed at this week’s meeting of the Municipal District Council meeting as local Councillor Mary Hanna Hourigan and Cllr Anne Marie Ryan raised the matter at the beginning of the meeting. The Cathaoirleach Cllr Declan Burgess informed the meeting that an update was available and the Director of Services Dave Carroll informed Councillors that a decision had been made at approximately 10am on Monday October 23rd to send a contractor to the estate. Cllr Hanna sharply criticized the council for a slow response to the situation and for failing to inform Councillors that a decision had been made to provide assistance.
The Council and Uisce Eireann had previously refused to intervene on this most recent issue as the Estate has not yet been taken in Charge by the Council despite an application being submitted in 2013. The two Councillors also sought an update on the requested meeting involving officials from the Council’s Housing and Planning office to progress the taking in Charge of the Estate and actions to bring all vacant houses on the estate into use. Some of the homes have never been occupied while some are vacant and boarded up and two are burnt out and on the Derelict Sites Register. The Cathaoirleach Cllr Declan Burgess asked that the meeting between councillors and housing and planning officials be expedited as soon as possible.
