Council gives building owners one month to eliminate rats

Residents in ‘The West’ area of the city fear being over-run by a large colony of rats which has taken up residence in the former Connacht Laundry building – set to be demolished. The owners of the site have been given one month by Galway City Council to implement a rodent control plan because of the “large rat infestation” on the site. One local pest control company has warned that sewer rat numbers are already quite high in the area. Local residents have expressed serious concerns about the infestation at the site, and the potential for rodents to migrate to Scoil Iognáid and local businesses. The HSE’s Environmental Health Service has demanded that a rodent extermination programme be put in place prior to the demolition of the building. A submission from The West Residents’ Association welcomed the application by Welmary Properties to “put an end to the threats to public safety that the site presently poses”. “Residents are aware of a large rat infestation on the site. Rats migrate to nearby premises when an infested site is disturbed. This would be a serious concern to local residents and also to all the children and teachers at Scoil Iognáid and local businesses, especially those involved with food,” Acting Secretary Michael Harlowe wrote. Planners approved the demolition of everything on the 2.1 acre site, except the boundary wall and an unoccupied dwelling on St Helen’s Street. The Council ordered that within the next month, systematic rodent baiting must be implemented at the site and that pest control continue during the work, with periodic reviews. A site map must be used to establish baiting points and bait boxes must be laid in locations of potential rat activity, and a pest control company must be employed. Cathal Dockery of Westpest told the Galway City Tribune: “At the moment, I’m doing a lot of work in that area with sewer rats. The rat population is high. As soon as they disturb that site, there will be issues.”