Cork family calling on council to address mould, damp, and leaks in their home for more than 20 years

A Cork family has said they have been asking Cork City Council for more than 20 years to address mould, damp, and leaks in their home, receiving no response except a refusal to renovate their bathroom.

Sharon and Kenneth Murphy live with their daughters Leah (16) and Megan (25) in a council-owned house in Desmond Square in Greenmount.

Ms Murphy told The Echo she has lived in the house since 2002, and “for as long as we’re here” the property has had issues with damp, mould and leaks, with paint bubbling and peeling from Her daughters’ bedrooms are particularly affected by damp, with the walls of Leah’s room so black she cannot sleep in the room.

“We had to move her bed down to the living room, which is very unfair on her as she’s 16 and deserves a bit of privacy, but the mould is so bad you couldn’t let her sleep in her own room,” Ms Murphy said.

Megan Murphy, who is 25, has been diagnosed with Autoimmune disease, which she believes is due to the dampness in her home.

“Any cold or sniffle that’s going I catch it because I have no immune system, and I blame this house for it,” she said.

Ms Murphy said their bathroom is constantly leaking into the kitchen below, and a request that the council upgrade the bathroom was refused in recent years.

The tiles are falling off the wall over the bath and there is black mould in the corners.

“We’re paying our rent – we’ve never missed a payment – and where is the money going?” she said.

“We’ve been asking the council for over 20 years to fix the mould, fix the damp, fix the leaks, and they haven’t.

Surely as landlord the council has a duty of care to us.” Housing advocate William O’Brien said the Murphy family was being “consistently failed by Cork City Council across many years”.

“This working family faces issues with mold, dampness, and leaks, indicating serious maintenance gaps in their building,” he said.

“The conditions in their bedrooms pose public health risks that could affect respiratory health and overall quality of life, highlighting the need to protect tenants' rights.

“It’s simply not good enough that people are paying their rent and when they ask their landlord, the council, to maintain their home, they’re being let down so badly.” Cork City Council was asked for comment.