A Letterkenny man who is in receipt of disability benefit has accused Donegal County Council of neglecting urgent maintenance on his home.

The man, who did not wish to be named, lives in a council property in Cashel Park in Lisnennan. He said he is plagued by water logging in his back garden every time it rains, and the situation can be quite treacherous.

Speaking to the Donegal News, the man said he has contacted the Council on numerous occasions but to no avail. He said the heavy rainfall of recent days has compounded the issue.

The fence blew down before lockdown and no-one came out to fix it. My front and back gardens are flooded constantly. When I go out to get coal the garden is swimming in water, it can be dangerous.”

The man said he feels discriminated against as he says other tenants on his street have had repairs fixed and maintenance works upheld.

“I see other tenants on my estate who have had issues but they have been repaired. I feel I am being discriminated against. My garden is completely saturated in water. I’ve been living in the property for more than 10 years and I take great pride in it and look after it. I don’t owe the council any rent. I have been asking them for a long time to fix it or to give me the money to help me fix it. I feel very let down. I am on disability benefit and not working, but I would borrow money it I thought I could get the problem fixed.”

The man said he sent video footage of the water logging issue to a few local councillors. He was told the matter has been brought to the attention of the maintenance team, who are to call out at their earliest opportunity.

Donegal County Council said it does not comment on individual cases, adding: “The Housing Section operates a maintenance system were all repairs reported are recorded and forwarded to the technical team for investigation.

“Where remedial action is required to address a problem, this is scheduled, communicated to the tenant and completed at the earliest opportunity.”