Mother claims council won"t repair fire-damaged window

A Dunboyne mother of four, whose property was the victim of an arson attack two weeks ago, claims she is getting no help from Meath County Council to replace burned and shattered windows in her home. Fiona Dodd was asleep in her bed two weeks ago when her young son, who is four years of age, came into her room to tell her that the front of their house was on fire. She looked out to discover that the car in her driveway was in flames, and was so close to the house that the timber-framed window of her living room was also ablaze. The incident happened on Tuesday 24th February when the car, which belonged to Ms Dodd"s partner and was off the road, was set alight. Ms Dodd quickly got her four children, aged from 13 down to three, out of the house and called the emergency services. Gardai sealed off the scene for seven hours for forensic examination, and Ms Dodd said the Gardai believe a flammable liquid was the cause of the fire. Meath County Council is refusing to repair the damaged windows, she claimed. She said she has paid €200 to repair one of them with single glazing, but cannot afford the €1,500 to pay for the window frame and double glazing of the main window. 'It is shattered and burnt and is there as a reminder for the children,' she said. 'As well as that, it is cold. The children are all staying at relatives" homes - they are afraid that something might happen again every time they look at the window.' She knows that the tenancy agreement with the council says that the tenant is responsible for damage to a window. 'I presumed that is from something like one of the kids playing football and breaking it - not something like this.' She added the tenancy agreement also states that, where repair to damage or breakage is carried out by the council, the tenant shall pay the costs of the work to the council. 'I am willing to do that, to pay them over a period if they repair the damage. But they won"t even entertain that,' said Ms Dodd. She can"t afford to replace the windows on her income, and as the car was off the road, it wasn"t insured. 'The council, as landlords, should have the house insured,' she said. A Meath County Council spokesperson was unavailable for comment on the matter this week.