The Court of Appeal has dismissed an appeal by Barbara Mulhare and her daughter Elizabeth against the refusal of their challenge to Cork County Council’s decision not to rehouse them closer to Cork University Hospital and Elizabeth’s GP.
The appeal concerned a High Court order made on 23 May 2017 refusing judicial review. The appellants sought to quash a council letter of 17 November 2015 and an order requiring the council to provide suitable adapted housing within five miles of the hospital and GP surgery. The Court of Appeal delivered judgment on 2 July 2018.
Elizabeth, then 29, has cerebral palsy, is a wheelchair user and depends on her mother for care. She also receives regular treatment for a persistent respiratory infection. They live in a Cork County Council house in Fermoy, about 43 kilometres from the hospital and GP surgery. An occupational therapist’s November 2014 report found the home unsuitable and recommended adaptation or rehousing closer to Cork city. The council said it was willing to carry out recommended works and address damp, but had no suitable alternative accommodation available.
The appellants argued that the council had failed to give proper weight to Elizabeth’s needs and that other matters, including rent arrears and the circumstances of their earlier housing, may have influenced the decision without giving Barbara Mulhare a chance to respond. The Court of Appeal said that claim was speculative. A council official had sworn that those matters were background only and had not influenced the decision; his affidavit was not challenged in cross-examination.
The court also noted that the requested area was within Cork City Council’s functional area, outside the respondent council’s area. It referred to the statutory housing-priority scheme and the limits on a court directing a housing authority to provide a particular home or location. The judgment did not determine that the Fermoy accommodation was suitable. It recorded the High Court judge’s express reservation on that question.
The Court of Appeal found no established error in the council’s decision-making and no basis to quash the decision. It dismissed the appeal, leaving the High Court refusal of relief in place.