‘No family should have to deal with rodents crawling all over their kitchens’

16:30, 09 May 2026Updated 16:39, 09 May 2026

Deputy Ó Laoghaire and Sinn Féin leader Mary Lou McDonald visited run-down flats in Togher last year(Image: Sinn Féin)

A Cork TD has accused the Government of neglecting council tenants in flats on Leeside and across the State, describing the damp, mouldy properties as a ‘source of shame.’

Cork South Central TD Donnchadh Ó Laoghaire levelled these accusations against the Government in a Dáil debate this week, calling for further investment to move along regeneration efforts. The Sinn Féin TD said that the Government has a duty of care to these tenants that it is currently failing to meet.

The comments were made during a debate on the regeneration of council flats in Dublin and Cork, with Deputy Ó Laoghaire drawing attention to a series of properties in Togher that have long been in need of refurbishment. Last year, Sinn Féin leader Mary Lou McDonald visited a set of flats along the Clashduv Road and challenged the Taoiseach to take action as the properties are in his own constituency.

The flats along Clashduv Road in Togher were built in the 1970s, and conditions for residents have been steadily worsening in recent years. Locals have reported rodent infestations, loose masonry, rust, and mould, with many living in the flats experiencing breathing difficulties due to the poor conditions.

Efforts have been made to fix these issues over the years, and Cork City Council has maintenance crews tasked with carrying out repairs as required.

Speaking in the Dáil, Deputy Ó Laoghaire said: “Cork City Council tenants feel shuttled away and forgotten. They feel that when it comes to housing, they are at the absolute back of the queue. It is a case of out of sight, out of mind and they are shuttered away.

“Not only has the Government neglected buildings, it has neglected people. These people are watching their children with lung conditions becoming unhealthy. Every year they are throwing out bags of clothes and other possessions because of damp. They are dealing with rodents and very often local authorities tell them it is their problem, despite the fact that they are local authority buildings.”

Cork City Council’s tenant handbook states that occupants are responsible for the disposal of vermin in their dwelling or garden.

Deputy Ó Laoghaire continued: “I have dealt with one tenant over the past couple of months who has had issues with a chimney collapsing and a bannister falling off the stairs in the flat, and is now dealing with a rodent problem. At the end of the day, there has been no investment in these flats and no prospect of it as far as I can see.

“There are profound issues. People renting in the private sector have to deal landlords who let people live in poor conditions but as far as I am concerned, the State and the Minister, as the landlord, are neglecting people. The Minister is leaving them in the cold and damp.

“Some of the conditions in these flats are appalling. They are way beyond their shelf life. I have heard stories of children who have cut their hands on jagged railings that have rusted away to nothing. There are issues with subsidence. There is a need for urgent investment. This is in the Taoiseach’s constituency. I ask the Minister to speak to the Taoiseach. He should visit these flats. I am sure he has passed them many times. He should see the conditions.”

While these properties are managed by local authorities, the Cork TD said that the buck ultimately stops with the Minister for Housing. He called for greater clarity to be provided to residents on planned regeneration schemes and called on the Minister to take action to address the run-down properties.

“No family in any form of accommodation in this country should have to deal with rodents crawling all over their kitchens. That is the reality in too many of these homes in, and also in flats such as in Desmond Square, Fort Street and Dean Street. Those complexes still do not have clarity about what is happening. Nobody deserves to live in such conditions, and it is the responsibility of the Minister to address that,” he concluded.