THE NUMBER of children missing school directly as a result of substandard housing in the largest local authority flat complex in the State was “shocking”, Dublin City Council’s manager of housing has said.
Dick Brady, assistant city manager, speaking at the publication of a monitoring report on living conditions in Dolphin House in the south inner city, said the regeneration project could not be left to the council alone, and he called on the departments of Education, Health and Justice to participate.
Dolphin House comprises 436 flats and has a population of about 900, identified by the Central Statistics Office as “extremely disadvantaged”.
About 44 per cent of the households have children and 40 per cent of the population is under 20 years old.
There is no playground in the complex, and no gardens.
The residents have identified deplorable living conditions, including damp, mould, inadequate heating and sewage coming up through drains.
An annual monitoring report, the third such report, was presented to council officials yesterday by residents and the NGO Rialto Rights in Action.
Among the findings were that 72 per cent of residents have damp in their flats, 57 per cent have sewage “invasion” and 62 per cent are concerned about their health as a result of their housing.
It found 57 per cent of households had a member affected by respiratory problems, stomach upsets or nausea related to substandard conditions.
More than 37 per cent reported that children had respiratory problems, with 92 per cent of those living in poor conditions reporting that their children had missed school in the past year as a direct result of these illnesses.
Children were missing more than 22 days of school a year in some cases, a breach, said the report, of the UN Convention of the Rights of the Child, and, according to some at yesterday’s presentation, of the Constitution.
Asked his view of statistics on school absence among children living in Dolphin House, Mr Brady said:
“Yes, it would be shocking. As we all know, schooling is vitally important for young people and the way we treat young people is a measure of how we behave in a civilised society.”
He echoed a call made by Fergus Finlay, chief executive of Barnardos and chairman of the regeneration board, that the Health Service Executive and the Department of Education represent themselves on the board.
Regeneration was a “collective effort” and “does involve justice, education and health” issues, said Mr Brady.
Though Minister for Housing Jan O’Sullivan was invited to yesterday’s event, no one from her department was there, nor were there representatives from the departments of the Environment, Justice, Health or Education.
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