We look back at the stories that were making the headlines this week in 1983
Absentee landlord in Beechmount
TWELVE Beechmount house-owners have organised in an attempt to have their rented homes – which lack inside toilets and hot water – improved by the area's absentee landlord. Now the American based landlord and his Belfast estate agents, are being accused by residents of refusing to upgrade the homes.
Residents of the homes in Locan Street and Beechmount Street have a long list of complaints including: rotting windows; faulty wiring and the provision of only one socket in each house; dampness; delay of landlord in building extensions.
After a meeting in the area on Tuesday night, Maureen Rice of Locan Street told our reporter that the families would be confronting the estate agents and demanding improvements.
"Many people in these homes are elderly, while there are quite a number of children and in one case a mentally handicapped man. Naturally the conditions in these houses, especially the lack of hot water and the outside toilets, make life very difficult."
Recently rents in some of the homes were upped by 400 per cent and only an appeal to the Rents Assessment Tribunal prevented the dramatic increase.
"It's a disgrace that people have to pay rents for these homes as public health notices and demands for repairs are ignored by the landlord."
Seán Keenan of Belfast Sinn Féin, who has been working with tenants, says the Tuesday night meeting was “a satisfactory first step”.
“Only united action by all the tenants affected will obtain any concessions from this absentee landlord.
“All over Belfast,” Seán Keenan went on, “houses of the same standard as these are being condemned and knocked down because an inside toilet and hot water are recognised as two fundamental rights of all house-dweller.
“It’s time this absentee landlord was confronted by residents and taken to task for his disgraceful neglect of these homes.”
Top Irish Award comes to West Belfast
IN its first ever attempt, West Belfast has carried off two much sought after top ranking prizes in a prestigious nationwide competition to find the area which does the most to promote the Irish language.
The West captured first place in a closely fought section for new entries and came an astonishing second in the section for areas of over 23,000 people in the competition organised by the influential Glor na nGael (Voice of the Gael) group. Trophies and cash prizes totalling £400 will soon be coming the way of the hard working West Belfast committee who profess themselves "delighted" at the results.
Explained spokesperson Padraig Ó Donnchú: "All credit for the impressive achievements goes firstly to the people of West Belfast who have enthusiastically accepted the necessity of protecting and promoting our Irish identity and traditions. Praise is also due to the scores of teachers and cultural activists on whose massive efforts we based our entry."
Mr Ó Donnchú said next year’s entry should be coordinated by a much larger committee so that the trophy for overall first place in Glor na nGael will come to Belfast in 1984.
"The Gaelicisation of street names, the numerous Irish classes, and the work of the Bunscoil Ghaelach provide us with the potential of providing a first class example to people throughout the country."
The money won by the committee will be ploughed back into language activities and part of it may be used to buy Irish books for H-Block prisoners. Last year the H-Block Gaelgeoirí were refused entry to the Glor na nGael competition despite strong protests from West Belfast and other local committees.
One other winner with a Belfast connection is D.C. Exhausts which carried off the award for the company which did the most to advertise in Irish.
Row over housing points
IN a statement this week, Sinn Féin Lagan Valley constituency representative Richard McAuley has criticised the unrealistic and inhumane attitude of the Housing Executive over their appointing of squatters for accommodation.
"The points system used by the Housing Executive was introduced as an attempt to arrive at a fair and impartial allocation of homes on a needs basis," he said. "Points are given for a variety of reasons, e.g. homelessness, numbers of children, bedrooms, washing and toilet facilities, and so on. The eventual total is supposed to reflect the housing need of an individual or family and the priority they receive on the housing waiting list.”
