GARDAÍ ARE investigating damage and theft valued at €100,000 from houses in an award-winning estate built by Galway City Council.
Copper-water boilers for solar heating systems installed in the dwellings appear to have been the main target for a series of break-ins at the Sliabh Bhán estate in Ballybane, Galway.
The 16 houses affected are part of an estate of 53 dwellings, which was built as mixed social and affordable housing and was completed in March 2009.
The estate received plaudits from the Royal Institute of Architects of Ireland (RIAI), and was featured in the organisation's journal, Architecture Ireland.
The majority of houses are occupied, but 18 houses at the rear of the estate are vacant, pending transfer to the Cliúd voluntary housing organisation. Although the windows were boarded up, implements were used to break in to the properties, according to Galway City Council.
Windows were broken, boilers removed and this in turn caused water damage to ceilings, the local authority said. It has notified the Garda, which is investigating the incident. “This estate is one that we are particularly proud of,” a city council spokesman said.
Galway West Labour Party TD Michael D Higgins said the transfer of houses must be made a “priority” to ensure their security, while independent councillor Terry Flaherty said the procedure must be “expedited as a matter of urgency”.
Mr Higgins described the break-ins as an “appalling development, but one that might have been anticipated”.
Ms Flaherty, who visited the estate yesterday, said that she was particularly upset for the residents of Sliabh Bhán, who have been “working very hard to build a community here, and to make improvements to their area”.
“It is very sinister that these specialised boilers should be targeted,” she said. “From what I saw, I would estimate the damage is well over €100,000, and the resulting cost of repairs is going to have to be borne by the taxpayer.”
“I feel very sorry for the residents, and I think the city council has to ensure that the transfer to Cliúd goes through, since we approved this some time ago at a city council vote,” Ms Flaherty said.
“There are 3,500 people on the local authority housing list in Galway, and some €650 to €1,000 is being paid every month in rent allowance to people who do not have a home,” she said.
Mr Higgins said that the issue of empty housing extended further than the looting of houses in Sliabh Bhán. The new leasing system for local authority housing provision, which the Government was offering as “a concession to its speculator friends”, must be “exposed”, he added.