Residents health at risk due to serious health and safety issues in Tallaght apartments

OVERCROWDED, damp and mouldy living conditions is what a number of Tallaght families are faced with every day, despite reporting health and safety concerns to the local authority.

This week The Echo visited families living in a two-storey apartment block in Ard Mor Park, which is made up of four, two-bed apartments – across which ten children and six adults live.

Last week, mother-of-four Angelina Byrne spoke to The Echo about the damp conditions in the Tallaght apartment block, which she believes are responsible for her children’s respiratory problems and skin infections – which she attributes to the fungus growth in their two-bed apartment.

The Echo visited three of the four apartments located in Angelina’s Ard Mor Park block and in each, the smell of damp was evident on walking in the door.

 

On entering the apartments, it could be seen where walls, ceilings and windows had black spores growing on them or damp patches, while, in some apartments, picture frames, ornaments, clothes and doorframes were damp and covered in a mouldy residue.

As a first-time visitor there appeared to be no air-flow through the apartments, despite windows being open, and a clammy, dampness to the air that residents claim is exacerbated in winter when the central heating is on.

Grace Falode has been living in a two-bed apartment for the past six years with her husband Jerry and their four children, aged 12, eight, seven and two. 

She told The Echo: “The quality of the air in my apartment is very bad and the damp conditions are extremely unhealthy, especially for my children.

“The fact that we are overcrowded as well does not help. Six of us living in these cramped conditions just makes the situation worse and I am worried for my children’s health.”

She added: “I have to hang our clothes all over the apartment because if I leave them folded in a wardrobe or in one of the bedrooms they get a mouldy white residue on them.

“In the winter we have mushrooms growing in the kitchen and the walls are wet with condensation.

“It’s not right that the council expects people to live like this.”

Joanne Cummins lives in the apartment block with her two children, and she told The Echo: “I’m constantly washing the mould off and repainting the walls and ceilings but the mould just grows back.

“My mam was living here for 16 years, since the block was built, and last year she passed away from pneumonia.
“I cannot say that the conditions in the apartment caused her illness, but it definitely didn’t help.

“We can’t go on living like this, these conditions are damaging our health and the council needs to listen to our concerns and do a proper investigation of the building – and stop telling residents that it’s their fault.”

Tallaght Central Anti-Austerity Alliance (AAA) councillor Kieran Mahon has visited Angelina Byrne’s apartment in Ard Mor and believes that the issue is down to ventilation, not the actions of tenants.

Cllr Mahon said: “So far the responses we have received regarding Ms Byrne’s home have been completely inadequate. Ms Byrne is a local authority tenant and this problem should be resolved immediately by the council.

“The maintenance of quality local authority units should be a key priority for the council.

“This should include fully trained maintenance crews and apprenticeship schemes. Resources and material need to be provided to those workers. There is a need for a real battle for financial resources to make this happen.”

Tallaght South Sinn Féin councillor Cathal King has also placed the issue on the council agenda and is calling for funding to be secured for the roll-out of a ventilation programme across problem local authority homes.

Others believe that the council should go back to the drawing board, examining the design of the problem units and the building materials used.

The Echo put a number of questions to South Dublin County Council but a reply was not received.