COMHAIRLE CONTAE ÁTHA CLIATH THEAS
SOUTH DUBLIN COUNTY COUNCIL

South Dublin County Council Crest

MEETING OF TALLAGHT AREA COMMITTEE

Monday, February 22, 2021

QUESTION NO.13

QUESTION: Councillor M. Duff

"Could the Chief Executive please inform this Committee about the number of Central Heating Boiler call outs received since January 4th and could he also explain why Tenants, especially Senior Citizens, are being left up to four days waiting for an Engineer to repair faulty boilers, when daily temperatures are almost at freezing at the moment."

REPLY:

During the period 4th January 2021 to 14th February 2021, South Dublin County Council received 911 maintenance/repair requests for central heating systems, of which 494 were generated in the Tallaght Electoral Area. The level of maintenance/repair requests for central heating systems, made within in that time frame, fluctuates between 104 to 199 requests per week. Demand for maintenance does corelate with the prevailing weather conditions. Due to the level of fluctuation in demand this will impact on response times. It should also be noted compared to the same period in 2020, the Council have seen an increase of 16% in requests for repairs to central heating systems, which is being attributed to the increase of daily demand on central heating systems as tenants spend more time at home following government advice relating to Covid restrictions.

Week No.

Dates

Request for Central System maintenance/repairs

1

4th – 10th Jan

224

2

11th – 17th Jan

113

3

18th – 24th Jan

104

4

25th – 30th Jan

141

5

1st – 7th Feb

130

6

8th – 14th Feb

199

TOTAL

 

911

In accordance with our maintenance policy, faults to central heating systems are deemed urgent and repairs will be carried out within 10 working days. Older/vulnerable persons are prioritised where possible. Typically, contactors will inspect properties and resolve issues within a 3–5 day period, from the date the incident was reported. Whilst every effort is being made by the Council and its contractors, on occasions, depending on the nature of the fault and availability of parts, repairs can take longer than expected. In the event heating systems are not operational for prolonged periods, the Housing Maintenance Section provide portable storage heaters subject to availability and specific need.