In case you missed it: Tenants say 60-year-old Cork city council flats are ‘unhealthy’

Persistent problems with cold, damp, and mould have been reported by more than half of Cork City Council tenants living in 60-year-old social-housing flats, while almost as many say that their health has been affected by their living conditions.

Infestations of rats and mice, exorbitant heating bills exacerbated by draughty windows, and dissatisfaction with the council’s responses are among the issues highlighted in a survey of tenants living in homes the same age and design as the dilapidated Noonan’s Rd flats.

During the second week of December, The Echo surveyed Cork City Council tenants living in the ‘O’Byrne flats’, a three-storey maisonette-style introduced in the 1960s by the then city architect, Eamon O’Byrne.

The flats were built by the then Cork Corporation to have a 50-year lifespan, and are, according to tenants, prone to cold, damp, black mould, and vermin.

The flats at Noonan’s Rd and the adjacent St Finbarr’s Rd, which are awaiting demolition, are prominent examples of O’Byrne flats.

Other examples can be found at Baker’s Rd on the northside, and on Clashduv Rd, Togher Rd, and other locations on the southside.

Across the city, an estimated 160 O’Byrne flats are in use, and The Echo’s survey received 95 responses, or from 59% of tenants.

Of the respondents, 33, or 35%, have been tenants in those flats for less than 10 years, with the remainder of respondents in residence for more than 10 years.

Persistent issues with rats and mice were cited by 65% of respondents, or 39% of all tenants.

According to Cork City Council’s tenants’ handbook, tenants are responsible for dealing with rodent infestations in their homes.

However, several tenants said that the rats and mice were running through the connected ceilings and walls and were coming in from neighbouring, overgrown, and litter-strewn gardens.

More than half of all tenants, numbering 81, or 85% of respondents, reported having trouble heating their home, with 44% of respondents spending up to €50 per week on heating, and 38% spending between €50 and €100. A further 7% said they were spending more than €100 a week on heating.

More than half of all tenants, numbering 88, or 93% of respondents, said that their homes had draughty or poorly fitted windows or doors, while 92% of respondents said their homes were cold and damp, with condensation an issue.

Just over half of all tenants, numbering 81, or 85% of respondents, said black mould was a recurring issue.

Health problems caused or exacerbated by poor living conditions were cited by 72% of respondents, or 43% of all tenants.

A total of 82% of respondents, or just short of half of all tenants, said that they had made complaints to Cork City Council and expressed extreme dissatisfaction with the response.

One person said they had contacted the council about an issue and were satisfied with the response they had received.

The O’Byrne flats have long been controversial, and In July 2023, following a public campaign by tenants and housing activist William O’Brien, which was highlighted in The Echo, Ann Doherty, then the chief executive of Cork City Council, described the living conditions in Noonan’s Rd and St Finbarr’s Rd as “shocking”.

In September 2023, Cork City Council wrote to tenants in the O’Byrne flats at Noonan’s Rd, St Finbarr’s Rd, Fort St, and Dean St, saying its preference was to redevelop the properties.

“This would require, on a phased basis, the temporary relocation of all residents, with an option to return to the redeveloped new homes in due course, or, if they so wish, remain living at their relocated home,” the council said.

TWO YEARS ON

More than two years on, most of the 60 flats on Noonan’s Rd and the 24 on St Finbarr’s have been vacated, with demolition planned for next year, but the majority of the flats on Fort St and Dean St are still occupied, with one new tenant moving there in July 2024.

A spokesperson for Cork City Council said that, because of the housing crisis, it was “seeking to continue full occupancy at the Fort St and Dean St complexes, where possible”, with some vacant flats being repaired for reletting.

They added that the council was currently involved directly, and indirectly through partnerships with approved housing bodies or the LDA, in the construction of about 3,500 homes in the city, representing an investment of about €1bn.

“The city council fully accepts that several other old apartment complexes need to be addressed,” they said.

“As part of a planned widening of its housing regeneration programme, the city council’s housing directorate is undertaking a review of other similar apartment complexes.”

Housing activist William O’Brien, who has worked with tenants of O’Byrne flats across the city, said the survey’s findings were damning.

“The survey shows clearly that the current approach to local-authority housing is not working,” Mr O’Brien said.

“Families are being left for years in accommodation originally intended to be temporary, homes that restrict liveability, erode dignity, and place ongoing pressure on family wellbeing.

“Adequate housing is not a favour: It is a fundamental human right and a legal obligation.”

Seán Martin, Fianna Fáil city councillor for the south-central ward, said there was a pressing need for the council’s regeneration project to be spread across other apartment complexes in the city.

“We need to extend regeneration to places like Togher as a matter of urgency. We can see that some of the flats there are no longer fit for purpose,” Mr Martin said.

Donnchadh Ó Laoghaire, Sinn Féin TD for Cork South Central, said that the results of the survey were “shocking, but not at all surprising”.

“Unfortunately, they would coincide very much with what I would hear anecdotally,” Mr Ó Laoghaire said.

“I get more complaints about the flats in Togher and similar complexes than I would get from homes that are 10 or 15 years older.

“This is an apartment- block model that is completely beyond its shelf life. It’s very, very difficult to address some of the issues relating to damp and cold, and that is a fundamental issue that is affecting people’s health.”

Mr Ó Laoghaire said the presence of rodents in so many of the flats was “completely unacceptable”, adding that the council needed to address the issue “with the greatest of urgency”.

Last month, the council said it was “addressing rodent activity” in the Togher flats “through a multidisciplinary approach”.

Mr Ó Laoghaire said a unified plan for the regeneration of all of the O’Byrne flats, and several other complexes, including those in places such as Desmond Square, should be advanced by the council.

With 82% of respondents expressing extreme dissatisfaction with the council’s responses, a council spokesperson said tenants were advised to contact the council’s customer service unit with any maintenance requests, “which will be responded to as quickly as resources allow”.