A group working with deaf people has strongly criticised a local authority for failing to provide secure accommodation for a profoundly deaf woman with no speech ability after she was attacked by an intruder who tried to sexually assault her.
A spokesman for Kerry Deaf Resource Centre, Mr Willie White, said that he had written repeatedly to Tralee Town Council over the past three years asking the council to make secure the doors and windows of the local authority-owned house occupied by Ms Kathleen O'Brien.
Ms O'Brien (34) suffered a black eye and a stab wound to the hand early last Thursday when an intruder broke into the house at St Martin's Park in Boherbee in Tralee where she has lived on her own since the death of her mother in 1998.
"I've written to the council several times between October 2001 and July 2003 asking them to do something about the front door and the windows - some of the windows are nailed shut, while others have no locks, so it's easy for anyone to get in," Mr White said.
"The front door has small glass panels and all anyone has to do is smash the glass and put in their hand and open the latch - the attacker in this case could have literally walked in the front door of Kathleen's house to attack her," he added.
Ms O'Brien - who uses sign language to communicate - was asleep when the intruder broke in. "I thought I was going to die - the man had his trousers around his ankles as he tried to molest me - I tried to run away but he just kept attacking me," she told local paper, Kerry's Eye.
Mr White said that Tralee Town Council was refusing to accept any responsibility for providing a proper secure house for Ms O'Brien and was claiming that the responsibility lies with the tenant - irrespective of their capabilities.
"We're talking here about somebody who is profoundly deaf, female, a member of the Travelling community who suffers from night blindness and has learning difficulties and lives on her own and has poor literacy skills - she runs the whole gamut of disadvantages."
Mr White said that Ms O'Brien has been fortunate in that her neighbours are very supportive and many have developed their own form of sign language to communicate with her. She has now gone to stay with relatives in England for a time to recover from her ordeal.
Ms O'Brien intends returning to the house upon her return to Tralee. "This is my home, I am pleading with Tralee Town Council to fix up my house so I can live in safety in my own community with my friends and relatives," she said.
A spokesman for Tralee Town Council's Housing Department said that they were appalled at the attack on Ms O'Brien but added that while the council owned the house, the council could not be held responsible for the attack.
"Our engineers have told us that the doors are adequate. Glass was broken in the door and that is the responsibility of the tenant," said the spokesman, adding that already this year the council had repaired the roof and put in insulation.
