All residents must contribute for upkeep of housing estate - Cllr Armstrong-McGuire

Residents associations are "working very hard to keep their areas looking good" however Cllr Finola Armstrong-McGuire said that in some associations there are local authority housing "where tenants are not paying towards the upkeep of the general area" and said this needs to be addressed.

She was speaking after a presentation by Leitrim County Council head of finance, Vincent Dwyer, regarding the General Municipal Allocation (GMA) for Carrick-on-Shannon which was discussed at the most recent meeting of Carrick-on-Shannon municipal district.

For Carrick, the figure comes in at €42,639 and was brought before members ahead of the budget meeting in November. 

Mr Dywer advised members that this is the "preliminary review" and the budget process is still ongoing. 

Cllr Armstrong-McGuire continued: "The volunteers working in those estates who are paying their share are now getting very angry that there are houses occupied that are giving nothing towards the upkeep of the green areas and the things that are agreed to be done by everyone."

She appealed for the matter to be discussed in-house and "link in with the residents' associations."
She continued, "€40 a year I'm talking about over the last five years which comes to €200 and if there are five or six houses where that hasn't been paid, that is quite a sum towards the upkeep of the green areas and general maintenance of the area."
She suggested the funds be gathered and "I do believe it needs to be taken from the residents because that's how you take pride in your area; when you put something towards it. Free isn't always good."

Cllr Enda Stenson supported the motion

More on the GMA

It's proposed to increase the GMA overall from €82,000 to €112,000, Mr Dwyer said that it's proposed to increase housing estate management from €12,000 to €15,000 and estate funding from €6,000 to €9,000. 

He said that community, tourism and arts grants are increased this year from €15,000 to €21,000 and that's allocated on a population basis and the Love Where You Live Leitrim programme has been increased from €9,000 to €12,000. 

The allocation Adopt a Road/Bring Bank schemes remain at €5,000 while the Tidy Towns and Amenity Grant Scheme allocation will increase from €35,000 to €50,000.