Courts / Wicklow / Report

Families living in "appalling conditions" launch action against Wicklow County Council

Summary

Two families, Margaret and Joe Moorehouse and Sharon and Michael O'Brien, have filed separate High Court actions against Wicklow County Council. They have lived in caravans at an unserviced site on Burnaby Road, Greystones, since last July, lacking basic services such as running water. The families applied for housing in 2013 and have been on the council's list since 2014, but have not received any response to their emergency accommodation requests. They argue the council's failure to respond breaches the State's obligations under the European Convention on Human Rights and infringes their constitutional rights. The actions seek orders directing the council to consider and decide their applications for emergency homeless accommodation through social housing support. Permission to proceed was granted ex‑parte by Mr Justice Seamus Noonan, with the case scheduled for a May hearing.

Who, what, where, when and why

What: Report matter: Families living in "appalling conditions" launch action against Wicklow County Council. Procedural stage: hearing_or_decision

When:

• 2017-03-06 Publication

Why: The families constitutional rights have also been breached because they have been left in wholly inadequate accommodation, it is also argued. CNI source report

Case subjects

Places mentioned

Topics

Stage Hearing Or Decision

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Read the original CNI report