In recent weeks, complaints have escalated from tenants in the Marmion Court complex near Queen Street, with residents forming a committee to highlight the deteriorating living conditions.
Many feel their calls for help have been ignored by Dublin City Council (DCC), leading to a growing sense of frustration.
Kathy McCauley has detailed the daily struggles she and other residents face as they have been forced to buy bottled water.
“You turn on the tap and you get sewage smells. There’s brown water. You can’t drink it. People are buying bottled water just to get by,” she said.
“It’s freezing cold, and people are finding mould near children’s beds. It’s black, green, like something you’d see in the Liffey. It’s really bad.
“You try and put a nail in the wall to hang a picture, and the whole wall crumbles,” she added.
Residents complain of health concerns due to the conditions, with frequent hospital visits for children with respiratory issues, including pneumonia.
With help from local councillors such as Christy Burke, Fine Gael councillor Ray McAdam and Social Democrats TD Gary Gannon, residents have been pushing for solutions.
Meetings with local representatives have resulted in some progress, with DCC acknowledging the existing issues and promising to address the water situation, with water tanks expected to be delivered soon.
However, many residents feel the conditions violate basic living standards and more urgent action is required.
“We pay rent and maintenance fees, yet nothing gets done. The place is falling apart. It would be better to move everyone out and demolish it,” Kathy said.
“They’ve left it for so long now, the issues in here, there’s so much work and money that would have to be spent. It would just be better to move the people out and pull this place down.
“The problem is there’s a stigma against us. People think we’re just sitting on welfare and that couldn’t be further from the truth. We pay rent, we pay a maintenance fee, and yet this is how we’re treated,” she added.
While some councillors suggest demolition and rebuilding as the only long-term solution, a number of long-time residents are reluctant to leave their homes.
Residents are calling for DCC to take urgent action, not only to provide clean water but to address the structural and safety concerns that have plagued the flats for years.
Fine Gael councillor Ray McAdam said the refurbishment of the flats roughly 25 years ago didn’t address the “fundamental problems” in the complex.
“There’s serious dampness, windows are unable to open, rain getting into bedrooms, and metal balcony railings rusting,” he said.
“We don’t need any more assessments; I want to see a water tanker provided to the residents so that they have fresh drinking water.
“My own view, ultimately, is that I think we should be looking at the demolition and rebuild of Marmion Court, but that’s without seeing the details of the assessment work.
“This is a quality-of-life issue with basic services not available at the moment.
“Now that the residents themselves are organised, I think this provides further impetus to come up with a clear, long-term plan. Not just to fix the short-term issues, but to decide what’s going to be done with Marmion Court,” he added.
Dublin City Council has been contacted for comment.
