“I’ve woken up with a rat on my duvet': Residents protest state of Togher flats

Residents of dilapidated southside social housing flats protested on Wednesday evening against conditions in homes they say should be knocked.

A group of about 50 residents gathered outside the Togher flats demanding that Cork City Council take action.

The flats, at Togher Rd, Clashduv Rd, Sycamore Place, Cherry Tree Rd, Sycamore Place, and Maple Place, are the same age and design as the Noonan’s Rd flats which the council intends to begin demolishing shortly.

The flats were built with a planned 50-year lifespan, and tenants say they are well past their use-by date and are prone to cold, damp, black mould, and vermin.

Residents who spoke with The Echo asked that we not use their surnames.

One, Pamela, said she had recently been hospitalised with a lung infection caused, she said, by the presence of rats in her home.

“I’ve woken up with a rat on my duvet, and I’ve been hospitalised before with a bad eye infection,” she said.

“I clean down my stairs and I keep finding rat hairs in the carpet. It’s disgusting.” Cork City Council’s tenants’ handbook says rodent infestations are the responsibility of tenants, but in the Togher flats, residents say rodents are getting into the buildings and travelling through the interconnected ceilings.

Another tenant, Jason, said he had called repeatedly on the council to block ground-level vents.

“The rats are getting in there and then they can go wherever they want,” he said.

“We’re sick of asking the council to do basic maintenance. The balconies are in dire need of attention, they’re falling apart.

“Most people here are very house proud and are happy to pay their way, if the council could play ball. I have thousands spent on my home and the outside is falling apart.” 

 Other tenants complained of issues with mould, damp, and poorly fitted windows and doors resulting in expensive heating bills. Many complained that the council is poor to respond to maintenance requests.

Sinn Féin councillor Joe Lynch said his party had been highlighting problems in the flats for several years.

“My colleague Donnchadh Ó Laoghaire has raised the issue of the flats several times in the Dáil, and former councillor Eolan Ryng was championing the tenants for years,” he said.

“What you’re seeing is residents venting their frustration after years of neglect.

“Cork City Council needs to start listening to their tenants, because the conditions people are living in are terrible.” 

A spokesperson for Cork City Council said it was committed to maintaining its housing stock and was taking “all reasonable measures, within available resources” to address issues as they arise.

Substantial capital investment would be required to fully address maintenance issues presented by the age of the flats, they said.

“Preparatory work is being progressed to inform a detailed capital investment plan that will be required to remediate or redevelop these flat complexes,” they said.