A chara, - A report recently released to Dublin City Councillors by the corporation's housing department on conditions of the 73 lifts in the Ballymun housing estate points to a very serious lack of maintenance, and furthermore a lack of honesty by Dublin Corporation with the tenants who have to depend on these lift's in order to get in and out of their homes in high rise flats.
The report carried out by, Messrs Donoghue & Associates, on behalf of the corporation, concludes that a programme for the replacement of the lifts in Ballymun is necessary, because the lifts have passed their useful lifespan after nearly 30 years of continuous operation. It also recognises that proper replacement parts are not available for the maintenance or refurbishment of the present lifts.
The report further states that the regular faults and lift breakdowns are as a result of poor maintenance, the use of spare, parts other than those recommended, and general deterioration due to age and usage. It contradicts previous claims by Dublin Corporation that vandalism was the chief cause of lift breakdowns in Ballymun.
Ballymun residents have to put up with constant breakdowns in the lift systems and regularly have to wait up to several months for lift repairs. in the meantime, people, often carrying groceries, buggies, etc., have to climb up to fourteen storeys. This often leads to isolation for older residents and the less mobile, who have to depend on the goodwill of friends and neighbours to do their shopping or pay the rent.
All of this is happening against "a background of the Corporation's 1996 Estimates, which set aside almost a million pounds for lift maintenance. We would like to know why this money has not reached it's designated target and we are calling for a public inquiry into the whole saga of the Ballymun lifts.
The tenants of the Ballymun flats complex demand and are entitled to a proper lift service. We "believe that nothing less than total replacement of the existing lifts will suffice, and furthermore there must be a proper maintenance service and a 24 hour call out service for lift faults. We're entitled to no less. - Is mise le meas,
Co-ordinator,
Ballymun Better Lift
Service Campaign,
37 Thomas McDonagh Tower, Ballymun,
Dublin 9.