A mould-ridden jacket was held up in Donegal County Council’s chamber today to shine a light on the serious health issues endured by families in defective concrete homes.
Councillor Joy Beard of the 100% Redress Party brought the jacket from the home of Letterkenny man Martin Homer to today’s council meeting in Lifford.
The jacket, covered in spores, was in one of Martin’s daughter’s bedrooms until a number of months ago.
The jacket from a defective concrete home that was held up in the Lifford council chamber by Cllr Joy Beard. Photo: Martin Homer
Cllr Beard told the council that homeowners have to wash loads of clothing every week to battle the build-up of mould.
She called on the council to inspect every one of its social housing units, looking for signs of mould and damp, and take action where required.
“It’s a humanitarian crisis that needs to be dealt with now,” Cllr Beard said.
“It has been scientifically proven that mould and damp can cause asthma, coughing and other respiratory problems. In some cases, particularly for infants, young children and older people, mould and damp can be fatal. Due to the presence of defective concrete blocks in thousands of homes in Donegal, the existence of these threats to health is on the increase.
Cllr Beard called on the council to act on affected social houses now to tackle “potentially deadly spores, eliminate water ingress and ensure that the Council’s properties are fit for human habitation”.
In response, the council said that tenants who have concerns in relation to maintenance issues, including mould and damp are
encouraged to report them through the Council’s established Maintenance Reporting System.
The response said: “In some instances, where the issue is arising due to defective blocks, it may not be possible to fully remedy the issue until the full remediation works are carried out. Therefore, when deemed appropriate, the Council have relocated households and will continue to do so, subject to an alternative property being available and acceptable to the tenant. In summary, if tenants contact the Council with concerns, we will arrange appropriate follow up.”
The lack of a remediation scheme for social housing was raised a number of times at today’s plenary meeting.
Councillors were told that the Department of Housing has agreed to a meeting with a delegation of elected members and officials from the Council, and this will be held on 5th December 2024.
In September, the Department indicated to the Council delegation that a funded scheme for the remediation of social homes was being finalised.
Cllr Beard: “I think the council has to be more proactive, in the tenant’s handbook, it says when there is mould and damp it is the tenant’s responsibility,
“I encourage you to write to every single social housing tenant and let them know they can report the mould in their home to this council.
“We need to reach the tenants who are sitting in these homes thinking there is no help and they have to live in these extremely unhealthy conditions.
“We need to let them know there is help there.”
