Pensioners ‘evicted’ by council plead for home

By Mary Dennehy

A COUPLE in their seventies who worked all their lives and reared five children have found themselves homeless and living in emergency accommodation in a Tallaght hotel.

After rearing their family, Alice and George Byrne retired to Roscommon after living in Castle Lawns for 35 years.

However, after the sad passing of one of their sons, who lived close by them in Roscommon, Alice and George, who were both experiencing health difficulties, returned to Dublin to be close to their family.

The couple’s son John, who lives in Old Court, Tallaght, said that his parents tried to get a home on the private-rented market after returning to Dublin.

However, there was nothing available for their needs – or affordable.

He said: “My parents were forced to move in with my sister even though they wanted their own space.

“My sister, who lives in a council house in Rossfield, had a large shed out her back which we fixed into a kind of a granny flat, but there was no running water or bathroom.

“Nearly three years ago, a social worker my parents met during a visit to Tallaght Hospital visited the shed and said that it was extremely unhealthy for them to be living there – and she asked the council to prioritise them for a house on medical grounds.

“However, nothing happened until this March when South Dublin County Council asked to meet my parents and told them that they had to vacate the shed – even though my parents were paying additional rent to the council for staying at their daughter’s.

“The council basically evicted them, even though they were fully paid up on their rent and there was nowhere for them to go.

“We’ve also learned that nobody in the council has read our parents’ medical files, which is another query we have.”
Alice and George sought assistance from Tallaght Central Labour councillor Mick Duff who got them placed into emergency accommodation in a local hotel.

However, according to John, this was to be for 12 days, but 100 days later the couple are still living in a hotel room.
“I just find it very hard to get my head around,” John said.

“My parents are looking for a small, one-bed apartment on ground level and we’re being told there is nothing.
“After fifty years of marriage, this is really putting a lot of strain on them.

“Neither of them are in the best of health and it’s shocking and quite upsetting to see a couple of their age who worked all of their lives now homeless.

“The council should not have evicted them until there was suitable accommodation to place them in.”

He added: “The council needs to step up and follow out its mandate to house people, especially those in crisis.

“My mother feels so let down by the state and this situation is really having a negative effect on my parents’ health.”

A protest was staged by the friends and family of Alice and George outside the council offices last week, with the family returning to the council this Friday to continue with their campaign to help secure Alice and George “a place to call home”.

When contacted by The Echo, South Dublin County Council said that no statement was being made on this case.