A Portlaw family of five is living in dire circumstances due to overcrowding and damp, a meeting of Comeragh District Councillors has heard.
The family is in a two-bedroom house and have to cook their meals in their garden shed because there is no space in their home.
Independent Councillor Declan Clune said the family can only use one bedroom because the second bedroom is completely unuseable due to damp:
“So it's a two-bed property which essentially means there's only one bedroom for five people. There's two adults and three children. Maintenance have been out and said there's nothing they can do it's down to overcrowding.
"The mother is staying the single bedroom with the 12-year-old and a baby in the cot, the father is sleeping on the couch with their four-year-old son.
"They have to cook in the garden shed because the living room and kitchen are all one and there’s literally no space there because with the couch pulled out and whatever else...
The Comeragh area councillor said it was “bananas in this day and age".
Cllr. Clune said the issue boils down to lack of availability of housing in Portlaw and Comeragh area. This family are on the transfer list and have been since they were approved in 2019. It is seriously sub-standard accommodation. He said he was embarassed going into the house.
He called on the Housing Director Ivan Grimes to personally intervene in the case.
Mr Grimes said he would talk separately with him about the overcrowding issue. He said he had referred it to the local authority's technical team and allocations team and would come back with a response.
(pictures of damp in the house)
You can listen back to Emma, from Portlaw, telling Damien Tiernan her story on Deise Today this morning (Thursday) by clicking below here...
