Dublin City Council’s failure to ensure adequate living conditions in social housing is a detriment to the health of its residents, according to Social Democrats TDs Jen Cummins and Jennifer Whitmore.
Deputy Cummins, who represents Dublin South-Central, said:
“Emmet Buildings is just one of dozens of examples in my constituency where the quality of social housing has been allowed to deteriorate to the point where residents’ are suffering ill health as a result.
“Oliver Bond, Basin Street, Dolphins Barn and Saint Teresa’s Gardens flats have all been neglected in terms of living standards, with urgent retrofitting of windows, doors and heating systems needed to ensure an appropriate standard of living for residents.
“81-year-old Anthony Doonan’s harrowing story of repeated sickness from living in Emmet Buildings is sadly not a unique one – I’ve received dozens of queries from my constituents suffering from the same dire conditions.
“The government must now treat Dublin City Council’s shortcomings as the crisis it has become – if the lack of retrofitting in flats is not urgently addressed, vulnerable residents will continue to suffer detrimental effects to their health.
“The lack of maintenance of flats is causing them to fall into extreme disrepair, to the degree that they often need to be knocked down and replaced – a completely unsustainable practice.
“Everyone deserves to live in a home without damp, mould and freezing conditions, yet 90% of residents in Emmet Buildings find themselves denied that right – the Department of Housing, Department of the Environment and DCC must place compassion at the heart of their agenda and move swiftly to rectify these substandard conditions.
Deputy Whitmore, who’s the party’s environment spokesperson, said:
“DCC figures show that just 17% of flats under its remit have been retrofitted, but it’s clear that this shortcoming is replicated in cities and towns across the country.
“There is a critical and immediate need for deep retrofitting and energy upgrades in social housing, where inhumane living conditions are directly harming the health of residents, particularly the elderly, children, and those with chronic illnesses.
“It is morally indefensible that while the government talks the talk on climate targets, thousands of people are left to live in dangerous homes, a stark contradiction between policy and practice.
“Local authorities must be held to account for their failure to uphold basic standards – housing neglect is a breach of duty.
“Climate action needs to be rooted in equity – a transition that leaves behind our most vulnerable is not a just transition. We need a people-first approach in which nobody is left behind.”
June 12th, 2025