Please save us from damp house

A DISABLED single mother has claimed that damp conditions in her Southside home is adversely affecting her family’s health.

Rose Hilliard, who is in her 40s, is wheelchair bound and suffers from sciatica and chronic asthma. She is currently living in a two bedroom council house with her three children – Karl (25), Skye (19) and Paris (11) – at Kilfenora Road in Crumlin.

Both Skye and Paris also suffer from asthma, which their mother claims is affected by the damp conditions in the house. Ms Hilliard and her two daughters need to regularly take inhalers to alleviate their respiratory problems and frequently attend the family doctor with chest complaints.

“I have spinal problems and I am in a wheelchair,

? Ms Hilliard said.

“I had asthma before I moved into the place but I hadn’t got chronic asthma. My girls are frequent users of inhalers.

?

Ms Hilliard said Dublin City Council have visited the house on several occasions but claimed that their only attempts to get rid of the damp and mould were to paint over it.

“The council repainted the walls around the Christmas 2010 and I used to wash all the black off the walls as well but the thick mould just grows back,

? she explained.

“All we want is a dry place to live, a dry place to cook our dinner and dry bedroom arrangements.

?

Ms Hilliard applied to Dublin City Council for a housing transfer on medical grounds in February but the request was rejected. She has since appealed the decision but has not yet been contacted by the council.

As part of her application to the council, Ms Hilliard submitted a letter written by her doctor who was of the belief that the family’s respiratory problems were being aggravated by their living conditions.

Local community activist Ray McHugh has called on the council to transfer the Hilliards to alternative accommodation as a matter of urgency.

“This house is the property of the council,

? he pointed out.

“I feel the council should be held responsible for the condition of their housing, especially if the conditions are causing health issues for these tenants.

?

A spokesperson for Dublin City Council said it did not comment on individual transfer requests.

“The council does not have any record of a complaint in relation to dampness at this address,

? the spokesperson added.

“However, an inspection will be carried out shortly on foot of this query to ascertain what works are required and any works identified will be carried out.

?