THERE was fury and frustration on the part of former Defence Force members faced with eviction from their homes after Justice and Defence Minister Alan Shatter declined to meet a representative group which recently visited the Dáil.
“The Minister did not even acknowledge our presence in the gallery while speaking about the subject,” said Joanne Pender, Curragh native and an independent candidate in the upcoming local elections, who said her own family had been affected by the issue.
Traditionally known as “overholders”, around 30 households on the Curragh Camp are occupied by former Defence Forces personnel and/or their family members. While the policy was that leaving the army technically meant leaving the home within 21 days, the reality was that this was never implemented in practice, with some people even unofficially being told that it was “a formality”.
The outcome is that people have remained living in the houses for up to 30 years in some cases but, contrary to common belief, Ms Pender pointed out that those involved are paying rent of up to €500 a month.
“There may be some who have slipped under the radar and are paying lesser amounts but it is a myth to claim that this is a cost to the state,” she said, pointed to figures (borne out by Oireachtas reports) which show that in the past four years, between €138,000 and €150,000 has been received in rents, while costs are estimated at between €28,000 and €32,000.
“These houses are not actually being maintained and they are occupied in most cases by pensioners who have little or no hope of alternative accommodation,” she said.
Given the current housing crisis in the county, with upwards of 7,000 people on the council waiting list, availability of accommodation is a major problem. “Paying private rents of up to €800 a month wouldn’t be feasible for these people and where the council list is concerned, they would go in at the bottom because they are currently in some form of housing,” Ms Pender remarked. She added that some would come in “just above the threshold” for rental subsidy, making the situation impossible.
In the meantime, however, letters have been issued to a number of residents on behalf of the Department of Defence’s Property Management Services, requesting that they leave their homes within a three-month period.
“One woman got a letter in Christmas week and was distraught all over Christmas,” Ms Pender noted, adding that all those involved wanted was to have their situation properly acknowledged, with the prospect of meaningful discussions.
“Minister Shatter has said this is ‘an anachronism’ but the reason for the anachronism is that successive governments have failed to manage the situation properly, leaving people with a false sense of security where there homes are concerned.”
She added that the entire issue of property management on the Curragh Camp needs to be addressed. “There are almost 50 boarded-up homes on the camp and at the same time, figures produced by PDFORRA at the end of last year showed that around 1,300 families of currently serving personnel were in receipt of family income supplement.
“Back in the 1990s, there was a plan to build co-operative housing on the edge of the Curragh because it was felt there was some duty of care involved. What has changed in the meantime? Presumably nothing except the financial situation and yet when you look at the actual figures, the whole idea that people continuing to live on the camp represents a cost to the state, is just blown out of the water. There is a community there, who need to have their voices heard.”
Around 40 people attended a meeting on the Curragh prior to the Dáil visit, while many others signed a letter of support, and Ms Pender stated that the campaign would continue until all of the parties involved were prepared to sit down and engage in meaningful and positive discussions.
