Donnchadh Ó Laoghaire (Cork South Central, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I cannot tell the Minister of State how many times I have been in the following situation: I knock on a door and say, "How are you? We are canvassing for Sinn Féin. What issues are important to you?" The person says, "Come in here 'til I show you." They bring me into the house, upstairs and into the kitchen and they show me black all along the walls. I can feel the cold. I touch the walls and I can feel the droplets from the damp into these 60- or 70-year-old houses that have scarcely had anything put into them by local councils over the intervening period. It is an absolute scandal, and the only reason it has not received more attention is that it is happening behind the doors of local authority houses. It does not get the attention it deserves.

We have cases where the quality of the housing is profoundly affecting the health of the tenants. There are children with asthma, pensioners with emphysema and COPD and things like that, and they are living in these desperate conditions. What is worse is that they contact the local council - it is true in my area but it is right across the State - and there is no prospect of improvement anytime soon. Bags of clothes and blankets and pillows are thrown out because they are up against the wall and the black and the damp rise against them. That should not be happening. It should not be happening in well-maintained homes. My God, if I were to bring a case like that to the RTB, it would not be long in telling me that this is unacceptable. It is just as unacceptable when it is happening and the State is the landlord.

Too many people are being absolutely neglected in this regard. It is a shame the Minister is not present. I understand he is busy, but this is one of the biggest issues in his portfolio. He is responsible for the welfare of tens of thousands of people as the State's landlord, and the conditions people are living in in council houses and council flats right across the State are not good enough.

Finally, I will flag a particular issue on the south side of Cork city relating to the balcony flats in the Togher area that have had very little maintenance done to them. They are subject to serious damp and cold. I refer to Cherry Tree Road, Clashduv Road, Togher Road, Sycamore Place, Hazel Road and Maple Place. It is very clear from the Housing Commission report that some of these flats need to be either completely overhauled or knocked and rebuilt. I call for the urgent regeneration of those apartment complexes.

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