Survey finds presence of damp and sewage in homes is leading to ill health among families, write RONAN McGREEVYand KITTY HOLLAND
THE HUMAN rights of the residents of one of the largest local authority estates in the State “are clearly being breached”, the president of the Irish Human Rights Commission has said.
Dr Maurice Manning was responding to a survey carried out in the Dolphin House complex in south inner city Dublin, which found 45 per cent of adults and 42 per cent of children living there had respiratory problems.
Some 90 per cent of the adults surveyed by a community organisation, Rialto Rights in Action, were worried about their health because of the presence of damp and sewage in their homes.
In addition to the survey research, key indicators have been monitored by residents, and samples of mould and mildew gathered for examination.
Analysis carried out by NUI Maynooth’s biology department has shown the presence of Aspergillus fumigatus, which can cause pulmonary disease in humans, most notably asthma and bronchitis.
Of those residents surveyed, three-quarters say they are living with damp, 64 per cent report mould in their homes and 84 per cent report that sewage comes up through their sinks and baths.
Dolphin House, which has 425 apartments, is one of the biggest and most dilapidated local authority housing projects.
It was to be the subject of a regeneration scheme to be completed after work at St Michael’s Estate in Inchicore was finished, but plans have been put on hold.
Mother-of-two Sinead Martin (29) says she, her partner Paul Dempsey (32) and their two children, Noel (8) and Aaron (4,) have all been suffering from respiratory problems since they moved into their two-bedroom apartment in Dolphin House three and a half years ago.
“I’m on two inhalers, my kids are on one each and my partner needs a nasal spray,” she said. “I’m terrified that my eldest fellow is missing out on so much school because of the dampness here.”
The findings of the survey and the analysis were presented at a seminar in Dublin yesterday.
Dr Manning said he was impressed at the manner in which residents had addressed their living conditions.
“There has been no rancour at these meetings. There’s been anger, which is entirely understandable.
“But you have gone about stating your case in a scientific and systematised way. The evidence you have gathered overwhelmingly supports your case.
“There is the International Convenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, which sets out certain economic and social rights as human rights which the State is obliged to uphold, and which, looking at this case, Ireland is clearly in breach of, in its failure to tackle these issues and bring housing standards up to an acceptable standard.”
Lorna Fox O’Mahony, professor of law at Durham University in Britain and specialist in property and home law, said the link between poor housing and poor health had been established in the 19th century and remained as relevant today.
She said there was no absolute right to housing, but each State committed itself to the progressive realisation of adequate housing, and the Rialto residents were exercising their right to demand adequate housing.
Though invited to the discussion, no representative of Dublin City Council attended yesterday’s event.