Donnelly concerned that residents of Dublin flat complex have higher asthma rates

The residents of one of Dublin's oldest and biggest flat complexes have twice the levels of respiratory illnesses compared to neighbouring areas.

A newly published study by Trinity College Dublin showed residents of Oliver Bond House in The Liberties are 2.4 times more likely to have asthma in their medical records as other patients attending the same GP practice in the area.

An earlier report also found eight in 10 residents of the flat complex are living with mould and damp.

Welcoming the research, Minister for Health Stephen Donnelly described the findings as very concerning.

"I think it’s important to see if it fits with the clinical advice we have and the public health advice we have that the physical surroundings matter in terms of healthcare and in terms of underlying conditions.”

He said the Government will be looking at the report and responding to it.

Mr Donnelly added: "We have to make sure that wherever people are be they in private accommodation or in public housing it shouldn’t matter.

"We have to make sure that the physical environment is conducive to them being healthy and we would be very concerned about a situation where we’re seeing these significantly higher rates of asthma and other underlying conditions."

Natasha O’Keefe, who has lived in Oliver Bond House for more than five decades, said she and her young granddaughter suffer from respiratory illnesses.

"My little grandchild is on an antibiotic nearly every three weeks now," she told Newstalk radio. "She's suffering from raw breathing – there's blood coming out of the little thing's nose."

Gayle Cullen Doyle, chair of the residents group, said around half of the almost 400 units in the complex only have single glazed windows.

She called for the regeneration scheme, which could take up to 20 years to be completed, to be fast tracked.

Dublin City Council said work is already being carried out to improve the living conditions at Oliver Bond House as well as the structure of the 1930s complex.