RESIDENTS OF a Limerick housing estate say they have been left without working toilets and showers since before Christmas.
Much of the old lead piping in the estate, St Mary’s Park, disintegrated during the cold snap and has not been replaced because the area is due for demolition under regeneration plans.
However these plans have stalled since the Government recently announced it did not have the €1.7 billion needed for the first phase of the massive building scheme.
Local politicians say the estate has been left in limbo as pleas for public money to fix the problem have been refused by the Department of the Environment. Even if regeneration funding is granted, it is expected to be 15 years before the building scheme is complete.
One family affected say the health of their 10-year-old asthmatic daughter has been placed at risk as a result of the problem.
Shannon Stewart often suffers asthma attack in the middle of the night. So severe is her condition that she needs to use a nebulizer breathing machine at night, but even this does not stop the fits.
During an attack Shannon’s temperature shoots up and her parents use the shower to bring it down again, but this has been impossible for months now.
Her grandmother, Josephine Stewart, said Shannon “gets a very high temperature and she’s up all night with sweats. Her parents have to shower her down but they can’t do that now,” she said.
“I’m livid; I think it’s disgraceful what’s going on. They’ve had no water since before Christmas – there is no one in this day and age that is without water.”
It is estimated that more than half of the estate’s 420 houses are affected, with many surviving on just a trickle of water in the kitchen.
Another resident without water, Geraldine Clancy, said the people affected had no quality of life. “I have to go to my son’s house for a shower. You can’t flush the toilet anytime you want to and the tank has to be filled up with a bucket. It’s terrible really.”
Local independent councillor and former mayor John Gilligan, said Limerick City Council had tried to address the problem. “The city council has asked for money from the Department of the Environment but was turned down.”