Richard Boyd Barrett (Dún Laoghaire, People Before Profit Alliance) | Oireachtas source

Since I met them during the general election campaign I have been advocating on behalf of four families, three with young children and infants, who are living in council maisonettes in my area in Sallynoggin. They are living in absolutely deplorable conditions. There is rodent infestation, black mould and damp running down the walls. One of the tenants told me this morning that there was ice inside because of the water running down the walls. These maisonettes have been earmarked for redevelopment but in the meantime the children and their families, for years now, have been sick. They have submitted letter after letter to the council asking to be urgently rehoused in appropriate accommodation. As we know from the Rialto case in Dolphin's Barn, it is a breach of their rights under the European Social Charter to be forced to live in these conditions. They should be moved and there should be a system of prioritisation for families with children when they are living in conditions that are making them sick and that are not fit for human habitation. Will the Tánaiste act on this?

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