I have spoken to tenants in various Dublin City Council properties and I know they feel the exact same as tenants in Cork City Council flats. They feel that when it comes to housing, they are at the absolute back of the queue. It is a case of out of sight, out of mind and they are shuttered away. Not only has the Government neglected buildings, it has neglected people. These people are watching their children with lung conditions becoming unhealthy. Every year they are throwing out bags of clothes and other possessions because of damp. They are dealing with rodents and very often local authorities tell them it is their problem, despite the fact that they are local authority buildings. There are issues with how city councils in Dublin, Cork City Council and elsewhere manage properties. At the end of the day, the buck stops with the Minister. He spoke about misinformation and referred to progress happening. It was said that progress is glacial but at least a glacier moves forward a small bit. Tenants in Cork City Council flats in Togher, including those on Cherry Tree Road, Sycamore Place, Togher Road, Clashduv and Hazel Road, have seen no progress in the past three years. I have dealt with one tenant over the past couple of months who has had issues with a chimney collapsing and a banister falling off the stairs in the flat, and is now dealing with a rodent problem. Throughout this, Cork City Council has not offered the tenant alternative accommodation. At the end of the day, there has been no investment in these flats and no prospect of it as far as I can see. There are profound issues. People renting in the private sector have to deal landlords who let people live in poor conditions but as far as I am concerned, the State and the Minister, as the landlord, are neglecting people. The Minister is leaving them in the cold and damp. Some of the conditions in these flats are appalling. They are way beyond their shelf life. I have heard stories of children who have cut their hands on jagged railings that have rusted away to nothing. There are issues with subsidence. There is a need for urgent investment. This is in the Taoiseach's constituency. I ask the Minister to speak to the Taoiseach. He should visit these flats. I am sure he has passed them many times. He should see the conditions. No family in any form of accommodation in this country should have to deal with rodents crawling all over their kitchens. That is the reality in too many of these homes in Desmond Square, Fort Street and Dean Street. Those complexes still do not have clarity about what is happening. Nobody deserves to live in such conditions and it is the responsibility of the Minister to address that.

Sentiment score: -0.11