Homeless Offaly woman is feeling cut off and 'very depressed'

A homeless Birr woman says she is living in a nightmare and 'cannot take much more'.

Elaine Meleady told the Tribune that she was happily living in Kinnitty for eight and a half years until she was evicted last year.

“I took my case to the Residents Tenancy Board, won, and was awarded financial compensation; but the case is being appealed and now I'm living in limbo.”

Elaine is living in emergency accommodation in Portlaoise and is very unhappy.

“I just need my own little place. I have a kidney infection. I’m on my 4th course of antibiotics. My mental health is not good. I'm feeling very down, all because I’m homeless and living this nightmare. I just can’t take much more. I'm miles from Kinnitty, miles from my home town of Birr.”

She says the location of the emergency accommodation is not good.

“I'm miles from the shops, from the hospital. It's about a two mile walk to the nearest bus. I need help but no one is helping. My life, my friends, everything is gone and I am dumped out here like unwanted rubbish with my two dogs, where we are living in really bad conditions. My dogs are inside dogs and they are forced to live outside. This place is filthy, there's a lot wrong with it such as black mould on the ceilings."

Elaine pointed out that she has been on the housing list for 12 years. She said she's on Daft.ie regularly but there is nothing available.

She was evicted from her Kinnitty home in September 2024 and spent a period of time afterwards living in a tent. She was moved to emergency accommodation in Portlaoise on April 3.

She said on a number of occasions that after five months living in the emergency accommodation she is feeling at the end of her tether.