At least 19 families face eviction from a Letterkenny estate with their homes set to be put up for sale.
The families at The Forest estate in Ballymacool were given eviction notices last week. Tenants, some of whom have been in their houses for over 14 years, have been given until the end of March to vacate.
Krzysztof Borkowski and his wife Alexsandra are expecting their second child at the beginning of April – and are worried that they could become homeless.
“Anger and fear, all that kind of stuff is how we are feeling,” Krzysztof, holding the couple’s three-year-old daughter Rosie, told Donegal Daily. “Out of nowhere, we received a letter. I was working when my wife sent me a text message to tell me that we have six months to move out. It was very unexpected.
“We don’t want to leave here. We planned to be here for a long time. People have known each other for a long time. Some of the people are here for 14, 15 years.”
Developer Phil Boyle of the London-based company Twin Estates Ltd – who recently sought planning permission from Donegal County Council to develop a further 52 houses in Ballymacool – wrote to the affected residents saying that the decision ‘was not one made lightly’.
“Unfortunately, due to a change in company circumstances, this was seen as the only necessary course of action,” Mr Boyle wrote.
Rising rent prices, the already-slim housing stock and the huge prices placed on the few properties that are for sale make for a bleak outlook.
“These people simply aren’t in a position to get a mortgage,” said Cathal Mac Fhloinn, the Chairperson of the Ballymacool Residents’ Association. “It is awful. Christmas is coming around the corner too. This is a time where they should be happy.
“Look at the price of renting now. Working class families just simply can’t afford this. These people are invested in this area: They work here; they go to school here; children are at creche here; they are in the clubs and the community.
“This will divide families and divide a community.”
Anita Baran has been living in Ballymacool for around eight years. She lives with her 21-year-old daughter and concedes that she may have no alternative but to leave Ireland.
“The worst plan is to go back to Poland, but this is my home,” Anita told Donegal Daily. “When I go back to Poland now, I still think that Letterkenny is my home. I have goosebumps thinking like this because it is very emotional.
“We are very angry. I am trying to be calm and optimistic. We will pray that something will happen. We must look at every possible way to stay in these houses.”
At Tuesday’s meeting of the Letterkenny-Milford Municipal District, Mayor Kevin Bradley said that councillors in the area are working hard on behalf of the families concerned.
Councillor Gerry McMonagle and Councillor Jimmy Kavanagh asked the council to consider buying the houses.
Councillor McMonagle said he believed some tenants could qualify for the Tenant in Situ Scheme, which allows Local Authorities to buy properties where tenants are facing eviction. Councillor McMonagle said that the council is ‘still some time down the road from acquiring new houses’ and that it should seek to strike a deal on the Ballymacool homes at a ‘reasonable price’.
Councillor Kavanagh said: “A lot of this is going to end up back on the council’s lap anyway. We are in a fairly unique situation in Donegal with defective blocks and we should be making our case because those families will have to be housed.”
Mac Fhloinn said the Residents Association will ‘plead with the developer to reverse the decision’ and added: “We need to prevent these people from becoming homeless.
“We will also speak to the RTB (Residential Tenancies Board). Each case is unique and each case will be assessed individually. It will depend on how long they are here and how long their notice period is. We will put in an appeal to have each case heard.”
