Water softening systems considered for Laois council homes

Laois County Council is considering installing water softening systems in its houses, to prevent limescale damage.

Cllr Paddy Bracken suggested installing the softeners in Mountmellick's council houses, at a recent district meeting.

“It would be a preventative measure. There are huge problems with hard water, doing damage to cylinders and showers. Down the line there will be huge problems,” he said.

“I see there is an increase in the housing maintenance budget in 2017 of €50,000. On the other hand you have an increase in the rental income of €140,000. We could use more resources in terms of housing maintenance,” he said.

The council’s head of finance and of housing, Gerry Murphy, replied that problems are being looked at.

“We will do preventative maintenance. I have asked staff to identify problems, particularly regarding cylinders,” he said.

Laois County Council will spend €1.1m to maintain its 2,200 council houses in 2017.