Family living in ‘horrible’ and ‘dangerous’ conditions

A RESIDENT living in Mac Uilliam estate in Tallaght has described her living conditions as “horrible” and “dangerous” which she says are making her daughter unwell.

Margaret, who has been living with her 14-year-old daughter in Mac Uilliam Estate in Tallaght since 2016, says that she currently lives without electricity and with leaks that cause water to run down the ceiling and walls of her apartment.

The Echo has reported on the living conditions experienced by other tenants in Mac Uilliam Estate previously, with residents complaining of persistent issues such as leaks and mould in an apartment block in the estate back in June 2020.

“The living conditions are a very big issue. The council were out a year and a half ago and they were supposed to be fixing the conditions I am living in but have ignored me since and haven’t got back to me,” Margaret explained.

Speaking about some of the conditions in the apartment, Margaret told The Echo: “There are holes in the ceiling, on one of the windows all of the concrete has come down and we can actually see outside through the roof. I have no cold water in the bathroom, and I can’t get electricity because there are locks on the metres.

“The windows aren’t closing properly, and we get drafts, the balcony is all rotted so you can’t go out onto that, and the balcony door is rotted so we get flooding from that.

“When I moved in first, the bathroom window was hanging out – they came and fixed the window after my daughter almost fell out of it because the bars on it were broke. The man above me had to give me an extension lead to do my washing or to make a cup of tea and I was boiling eggs in the kettle for something to eat.

“It is not liveable, and it is very dangerous.”

According to Margaret, her 14-year-old daughter has suffered health problems as a direct result of the living conditions.

“The doctors have said she is not very well because of it. She has been on steroids, and she couldn’t go to school this morning because she couldn’t wash her hair because we had no water.

“I am not getting anywhere, and I am just being ignored – it is just horrible to live the way I am living, and my rights are taken away from me.”