Réada Cronin (Kildare North, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

As the Minister of State knows, Ireland has one of the highest rates of respiratory illness and disease in Europe. We have the highest rate of hospitalisation in the OECD for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, COPD. Mould triggers and exacerbates respiratory conditions and also causes death, as in the case in England to which my colleague referred earlier. I am sure the Minister of State has heard about that case. The coroner in England made the defining judgment that the death of Awaab Ishak was due to chronic exposure to mould in the apartment in which he was living. That judgment is also of critical importance to us in Ireland because of the amount of mould in the country. We have similar weather to the UK.

I know of a case in north Kildare where the roof of a home has been deemed the cause of serious mould. The council's response so far has been to paint the ceiling. People should not be living in these kinds of conditions in the 21st century. It is unimaginable. That the public should be subsidising these conditions with public money is disgraceful.

I would like to see plans for a mould audit. We should require all local authorities to undertake an inspection and audit of their housing stock for mould. We should mandate a designated number for the reporting of mould in all local authorities. It is a health issue. We should ensure that public money is withheld from any private landlords whose stock is deemed unsuitable. The public should not be funding properties that are bad for public health.

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