Woman’s decade long battle over house repairs
A Wexford woman involved in a decade-long battle with Wexford Borough Council to have essential repairs carried out on her local authority home, said her mental health is suffering as a result.
During the Covid-19 crisis, Sharon Doyle of Ferndale Park summoned Wexford Fire Service to her home on two occasions to deal with sparks coming from exposed wires on a light fitting left after earlier council work. A local authority maintenance emergency team also visited the property during the coronavirus crisis.
Sharon and her two daughters moved into the house 14 years ago and the problems first began when the council had a back boiler installed.
She said smoke started billowing out of the fireplace initially and, after countless complaints and phone calls, the local authority asked chimney specialists to carry out an assessment which revealed cracks going up into the attic. A new chimney was installed the following year. ‘The fire still smokes to this day but it’s not as bad and now we try to use the oil’, she said.
Sharon noticed water coming through the kitchen ceiling in 2013 and reported the problem, resulting in maintenance staff visiting the property numerous times and she also hired a plumber herself on one occasion.
She said the tiles in the bathroom, which have been there since the family moved in, were layered incorrectly and the water seeped down behind the bath. There was also a leak downstairs in a cupboard. ‘There was a shower here when we moved in but it broke after a few months and the council won’t let me put in a new shower’.
Sharon said the situation is taking a toll on the family. ‘My 18-year old daughter has selective IgA deficiency which means she has a very low immune system. She has been in hospital twice in the past three months. I suffer from COPD, vertigo, IBS and sciatica’.
‘We have complained constantly over the past seven years and last year, the council arrived to fix the leak but the water still came through the ceiling’.
Sharon said she sent letters from her doctor to the council about the deteriorating state of her mental health due to the condition of the house.
‘The situation with the leak got to the point that it was pouring through the light bulb. I rang the emergency number for the council, but was told they wouldn’t be able to call out because of the Covid-19 crisis. I pleaded with them to help me out’
Following representations from local councillors, an emergency team was dispatched to the house in early May. While they were inside, Sharon, her daughters and the family pets had to leave the house and wait in their car, due to coronavirus restrictions.
Sharon said at one point, a council representative informed her she would be getting a new bathroom and kitchen but later, she received a letter telling her that this would not be happening. She said she put in for a transfer on medical grounds and received a letter at the start of May, informing her the transfer application was being processed.
‘You can imagine how happy we were to get this news. But then I rang last week to see if there was any progress and I was told that the application had been denied. My heart sank to the floor. I asked why and was told I would need doctor’s letters to prove it. I explained that the doctor’s letters had been sent previously. In fact, I sent them in twice’.
Sharon said she understood that reports by maintenance staff following call-outs to her house were not on her file when it was given to the team who make decisions on transfers.
She has been telephoning and calling in person to the council but can’t seem to get anywhere. ‘This constant to-ing and fro-ing has been going on since the first complaint ten years ago’, she said.
Sinn Féin councillor and Deputy Mayor of Wexford Tom Forde said he is concerned that Sharon and her daughter are in poor health. ‘It’s difficult for someone in these circumstances to be living in these conditions for a long time.’
‘I believe the leak has been repaired now but she is unhappy with the condition the house has been left in and the standard of accommodation in the house’, said Cllr Forde, who had asked the council to implement emergency protocols to enable staff to deal with emergency maintenance situations during Covid-19.
‘I know resources are very tight and the council staff do a fantastic job in trying to provide services from a limited budget, but I would hope that if they can’t get the house up to a proper standard, that they would consider Sharon for a transfer.’
A Council spokesman said the local authority cannot comment publicly on individual cases and advised Ms Doyle to make direct contact with the housing department to arrange an interview to discuss her situation.