Longford council tenant: 'We can't live like this. We're suffering!'

A strong, musty smell of damp greets you as you walk through the door of Winnie McDonagh’s council apartment.

​As it turns out, there’s no escaping it. In fact, it’s even more prevalent in the bedrooms.

It has became so intolerable in her son Eddie’s room that he now refuses to sleep in there. The last time he did, Winnie says, he became physically unwell. As the child already suffers with asthma, the potential impact of the damp and mould on his health is a serious concern for her.

Winnie’s own bedroom, while not as bad as her son’s, is still only marginally better. Pull the headboard out and the volume of black mould-like spots covering the wall beneath the window resembles something like a large Rorschach painting.

"I’m just desperate now, I don’t know what to do,” says Winnie. “There’s a smell of dampness all throughout the apartment. The bed I use, I can’t even change it because anytime I put something new in the room, it gets ruined from the damp and mould."

"The mattress is destroyed. Behind the bed, the wall is all black with mould. I’ve been into them (the council’s housing department) almost every week. All I hear is “nothing has come up; there’s nothing for you.” I even cried on the phone begging them to do something for me and my son.”

Black mould-like patches can also be seen creeping up the side of the window and above the frame while the lining of the curtains are also stained with black spots.

Winnie says she and her son Eddie have resorted to living out of plastic boxes as any clothes left in the room or stored in the built-in press in her child’s room have been left “destroyed” from the damp and the mould.

The problems are far from a recent turn of events; in fact they have been ongoing for six years now. Winnie says she has been submitting doctors letters to Longford County Council since her son was “around 5 or 6 years old.” He’s now 8.

"I’m worrying so much about it,” she explains, visibly upset. “Eddie is constantly sick; he’s constantly coughing. I’ve lost count of the letters I’ve given them from Dr Sharif in Mullingar. Even my own chest is at me.”

"I’ve been to hell and back. They (the council) gave me a letter one day saying I needed more letters. I got them more letters so I could be put on a transfer list, I got them everything, but that was a long time ago.”

While she is now on the transfer list, so far no new home awaits.

In Eddie’s bedroom, Winnie opens the door of a storage press revealing the strong smell of damp that has built up inside. She adds, “About 7 or 8 months ago, that door was left open and he ended up getting very very sick. He was like an old man suffering with his chest. He was choked. Since that incident, he will not sleep in that room. My room and the child’s room are damp which is not helping his situation with the asthma.”

In addition to the ongoing issues, Winnie says the apartment is “freezing cold.” The built-in heater, which she says has not been working since last Easter, turns off within a minute of being switched on, leaving a concerning smell lingering in the air.

“They (the council) were asked to come out and fix it on many occasions. They sent out a fella who came checked it but I never heard anything since,” she says.

With no seal underneath the front door, rainwater seeps inside the apartment with ease, turning the tiles into a potential hazard.

“Some days, the water is all over the floor," explains Winne. “When that happens, the tiles are so dangerous.”

On a section of wall directly inside the front door, plaster comes away at the slightest touch.

When contacted about the problems in Winnie and Eddie’s apartment, Longford County Council explained that while they “do not comment on individual tenancy cases or matters relating to specific tenants”, “the Council takes its obligations as a social housing provider seriously and responds to maintenance requests in accordance with the procedures and responsibilities set out in the Tenant Handbook and the Council's maintenance programme.”

The Council said it is currently carrying out surveys of its social housing stock to identify and prioritise necessary maintenance and improvement works, adding that reported issues “are assessed and addressed in line with the Council's maintenance policies, available resources, and the nature and urgency of the works required.”

Responding to our query on Winnie’s request for a transfer, the council wrote, “The allocation of alternative accommodation is dependent on the availability of suitable properties that meet the applicant's household needs within the requested area of choice.”

“As demand for social housing significantly exceeds supply in many locations, transfer applications are considered in accordance with the Council's Allocation Scheme and are subject to the availability of appropriate accommodation.”

“Given our obligations regarding tenant confidentiality and data protection, it would not be appropriate for the Council to comment further on any individual case.”

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