Residents of one of the oldest flat complexes in Dublin city are calling on their local authority to fast-track regeneration plans for their area and for immediate interim improvements to their homes.
A survey of conditions in Oliver Bond House showed that of roughly 1,200 people living in the flat complex, 83 per cent are living with mould and damp and 74 per cent have to deal with draughts and poor insulation.
Natasha O’Keeffe, who has lived there all her life, described the conditions in her home as “absolutely appalling”.
“My daughter suffers from asthma and has a reaction to penicillin, so I had to take the wardrobes out of her room because there was a fungus on them. It wasn’t even just mould - it was furry. The smell was absolutely terrible,” she told The Irish Times.
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The dampness and poor insulation in O’Keeffe’s flat has made it difficult to stay warm, which was a particular challenge during the Covid-19 lockdown in winter.
“We all had Covid here at Christmas because the flat is too small to isolate anywhere. We had to have the heating on 24/7 to keep warm because the insulation is so bad and the windows are three decades old.”
In the nearly 83 years the 14 block complex has existed, only one regeneration has been completed.
Generations of Ms O’Keeffe’s family lived in Oliver Bond House before her, and she “doesn’t ever want to leave”, but the conditions are wearing her and her family down.
‘Fancy’
“Things have to change. Unlike the new fancy apartment complexes or student housing projects popping up everywhere across the city, we are a ready-made inner city community that is being left to rot.”
Over 55 per cent of residents at the complex have been told by a medical practitioner that damp, mould or sewage is contributing to ill-health in their families, and 35 per cent also report sewage problems.
Some 30 per cent of residents said they have water coming into their homes, exacerbating the mould and dampness. Many continue to have problems with pests, including rats.
The survey on conditions was distributed to all 395 households in the estate in March by the Oliver Bond Residents Group and 186 responded.
Michael Conway, whose family has lived in the same block of Oliver Bond for eighty years, is suffering from a chest infection which he says worsened in the winter due to the dampness and mould.
“I complained about it and I was told to wash it down with bleach,” he said, pointing to the black mould trailing up his bedroom wall.
He said he has been in his flat twenty years and had problems “since day one.”
“In the winter I have to sleep in my sitting room to stop me getting sick with it. I’ve had three inspectors up who said it was condensation and to just repaint it, but even the windows are broken and letting draughts in constantly, so it can’t be that,” he said.
Sleep
Noise pollution makes it difficult to sleep due to single glazed windows which no longer fully close, and water regularly comes in through Mr Conway’s hallway during heavy rain, as his flat is on the top floor with gaps in the front door.
Despite these issues, residents have been told that it will be at least 15 years before they can expect the regeneration programme of the flats to be completed.
In that time, “an entire generation will be forced to live in dire, unsafe and unhealthy conditions in the meantime. Many older residents will pass away in these conditions,” Lynette Lyons, a member of the Residents’ Group said.
Residents have made a number of demands of Dublin City Council for short-term improvements, such as new windows, better security and maintenance, and play areas for their children.
A statement from the council said the regeneration of Oliver Bond House is a “priority” and it is finalising its application to the Department of Housing for the first phase of regeneration of Oliver Bond House.
Due to the complex being fully tenanted and given its size, “it will be necessary to complete the regeneration plan over a number of phases”, it added but said the council “will consider every opportunity to shorten and alleviate the timescale.”