Noonan’s Road residents must be treated with 'sensitivity', says Cork TD

A CORK TD has called on Cork City Council to show “sensitivity” in its dealings with social housing residents of Noonan’s Road who have claimed they feel “abandoned”.

A number of residents of the Noonan’s Road buildings last week said their accommodation was unsafe and unfit for human habitation and they alleged that despite repeated attempts to contact Cork City Council, there has been no engagement by a tenancy liaison officer.

Several of the homes, seen by The Echo, have multiple occurrences of black mould in interior rooms, and some exterior balconies appear to be crumbling, with a number of their canopies suffering apparent structural instability.

Some residents say their homes have suffered repeated infestations of rats and mice, while others claim damaged roofing reveals clear evidence of leaking asbestos.

A spokesperson for Cork City Council told The Echo its housing directorate had recently undertaken “a detailed survey and assessment of the housing units at Noonan’s Road with a view to the progression of their refurbishment/upgrade (to include deep energy retrofit).

“The council is currently reviewing the survey findings in order to consider next steps to the progression of sustainable and appropriate solutions to the housing development at Noonan’s Road.

“Residents and elected representatives will be advised of progress in this regard in due course,” the spokesperson said.

Sinn Féin TD for Cork North Central, Thomas Gould, whose electoral area covers Noonan’s Road, said residents had been promised for over 20 years that works would be carried out to insulate the properties and make them fit for living in, but those works had never happened.

“The original design is decades old and not fit for purpose, and the energy efficiency of those buildings is really bad, with people are living in tight, cramped, overcrowded, freezing cold accommodation,” Mr Gould said.

“There’s problems with the electrics, there’s problems with dampness, there’s problems with mould, rodents, and the homes are just not suitable for people in this day and age.”

Mr Gould said the council had a choice of whether to “waste millions trying to retrofit the properties or … knock them, rebuild them and move the people out while that work goes on”.

The Sinn Féin TD said most Noonan’s Road residents did not want to leave because they had great neighbours and friends.

“If these flats were properly done, no-one would want to leave there,” Mr Gould said.