Extra council staff should be looked at along with rent review

The number of staff available to undertake maintenance work in the Manorhamilton Municipal District was queried at this month's meeting of the district.

Cllr Padraig Fallon (SF) tabled a motion in which he asked that the council would “provide the number of outdoor housing staff, trades or skilled labour available to carry out repairs in the Manorhamilton MD and the expenditure to date this year on housing maintenance and how it compares with expenditure for the same period last year.”

Cllr Fallon told the meeting that in light of an impending rent review and “hopefully minimal rent increases,” there would be a “greater onus on the Local Authority as a landlord in relation to maintenance staff.”

Cllr Fallon was seeking that, “extra staff would be looked at in the context of a rent review.”

Cllr Felim Gurn (Ind) said that there was an onus on the council to do maintenance work such as painting and “we can't always go back to the Tidy Towns to get work done.”

In response to the council reply which stated that contractors were called upon when required, Cllr Justin Warnock (FF) said that, “getting contractors in is welcome, but we could do with more staff.”

The reply from the council stated that, “the Housing Department currently have two craftworkers and two semi-skilled operatives available to carry out repairs in the Manorhamilton MD.

“We've also procured the services of contractors that we call upon as required, including a plumber, electrician, roofers and heat pump technicians.”

“To date in 2026, the Housing Department have spent €107,849 on repair requests. For the same period in 2025, the Housing Department spent €82,587 on repairs,” the reply added.