27 January 2023 , 16:02
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A five-month-old baby living in a council flat with a "horrific" mould problem has the cough of a smoker of 20 years, his grandmother has said.
The baby's grandmother, Nicola O'Connor, has been sending complaints to Dublin City Council since the mould in her two bedroom apartment exploded, rendering the apartment near unliveable.
Seven people across three generations are living in the city centre flat, all of whom have been on antibiotics to combat illnesses they contracted they say as a result of the damp conditions.
Sinn Fein TD (Irish member of parliament) Chris Andrews has called on the Government to address the issue which he said needed "direct intervention".
The baby's grandmother, Nicola O'Connor, has been sending complaints to Dublin City CouncilFrustrated grandmother Nicola O'Connor, who has been in the flat for 15 years, told Dublin Live: "The mould got bad before Christmas.
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"We only had the wallpaper up for three weeks and the whole place was destroyed. I can't even put a new floor down in the bedroom because it is so wet. It is damp there but it was never as bad as it was at Christmas.
"I treated it but the paint is still coming off the wall."
Nicola doesn't know what made the damp so bad all of a sudden and said there "were no works done" recently that could have started it.
"It is absolutely shocking. It is a two bedroom flat. I've got my 28-year-old son, my 22-year-old daughter, my 12-year-old son, my eight-year-old daughter, my three-year-old grandson and five-month-old granddaughter in that room.
"I don't want a bigger place but I just want my daughter to have a bigger place. It is just that there are too many people in that room."
The walls of the flat are covered in mould
Contractors were sent out to put fans in the flat but Nicola did not think it was enoughShe added: "The baby has a shadow on her lung. She has to go back now in another couple of weeks for an x-ray.
"My grandson has had five antibiotics since October for tonsillitis and chest infections. Both of my daughters have been on antibiotics and I've been on antibiotics and inhalers.
"It is a nightmare. There is an empty flat underneath us and we are trying to get a flat for my daughter. I've been smoking for 30 years and I don't have a cough as bad."
DCC did send out contractors to put fans in the flat, in Saint Andrews Court, but Nicola doesn't think it is enough.
"What are fans going to do? The wall needs to be treated and there is no point in putting a fan on if it is not," she added.
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The mould is really bad
Close up it looks grim (Close up it looks grim)A spokesman for DCC said: "Dublin City Council does not deal with maintenance requests via the media and will not discuss specific cases for privacy reasons."
Deputy Andrews called on the Government to set aside money for the "battle on mould".
He said: "The chances of the Council sorting out the mould is long gone.
"Government needs to intervene directly. Government needs to set up a task force with ring fenced funding for the battle against mould.
"Tenants in Mercer House and York street and all the flats deserve better. The climate change funds can be used for insulation to make the flats warm and modern and crucially energy efficient.
"It seems though that emissions reductions are only for the wealthy. No schemes are supporting those living in the flats."