Dublin mum would 'rather be homeless' than risk Autistic son's 5th-floor balcony fall
A desperate Dublin mum says she would "rather go back to homeless accommodation" than risk her Autistic five-year-old son falling from their fifth-floor Tuath Housing apartment.
In De Verdon Place on the Malahide Road , Ciara (name changed for reasons of anonymity) lives with her five-year-old son and four-year-old daughter in circumstances where she can never quite relax. With anti-social behaviour occurring outside her door and what she says is an immediate safety risk inside, the Dublin City Council tenant finds herself in a precarious living situation.
Single mum Ciara moved to De Verdon Place when it launched two years ago and lived in emergency accommodation for over two years before that. While she had concerns from the beginning about the fifth-floor balcony, now that her son has grown bigger and can physically get his legs over the railing, the potential for an accident looms larger.
Ciara keeps blinds down most of the time and attempts to ensure the door to the balcony is always locked, as her son simply doesn’t understand the danger and if he sees the outside he will want to go out and play. “I shouldn't have to worry about my child getting over that balcony or if I have to bury my son,” the worried mum told Dublin Live.
She said there have been some near misses in the past and she’s thankful her neighbours have been quick to shout that he’s trying to get over the balcony. She said it’s happened “three or four times” and that when she tries to explain her concerns to DCC and the complex's Approved Housing Body (AHB), Tuath Housing, she gets nowhere.
The balcony is Ciara’s first point of concern but she says the bedroom situation is also increasingly becoming a problem as the additional needs of her son are making life difficult for her daughter with whom he shares a room. “She is suffering with his sleep, his behaviours, his stimming, it’s not fair that she has to suffer too,” she said.
Ciara has linked in with Tusla, who are reviewing her situation, and is calling for the severity of her son’s diagnosis and need for his own room to be recognised. She said her son will wake up at night and throw things and hurt his sister - this has been an ongoing issue since he was a baby.
“I don’t want to get into the severeness of what my child is doing but it has been documented,” she said. “The situation is not going to change, it’s getting worse, rather than better.”
Ciara has been granted medical priority for a transfer by Dublin City Council but an application for an additional bedroom was rejected. “The Chief Medical Officer has determined that the condition referred to does not cause major problems of an exceptional nature that merit an additional bedroom on medical grounds,” the response issued to Ciara stated.
This is where Ciara’s frustrations really come to a head, as she had gone out of her way to solve her housing situation herself by finding a suitable mutual transfer on her own. Ciara has been in contact with another council tenant in a three-bedroom home who is looking to downsize and was willing to swap with her.
But Ciara’s status as a two-bedroom household means this request was rejected outright. She struggles to fathom how two households who simply wish to swap with one another and solve each other's problems are not permitted to do so, and why DCC cannot accept that these are extenuating circumstances that warrant proper reconsideration.
“It took me months to find someone that wanted to transfer in here. For months I was looking for somewhere, but no one wants to do a mutual transfer here because they don’t want to put themselves in the situation that everyone else is dealing with at De Verdon,” she said.
Ciara believes that other tenants have been accommodated for situations less severe than hers and said all her problems would have been resolved if only they granted this transfer. “I could have been out of here in six weeks,” she said.
She said the situation is taking a toll on her mentally and physically, stating she’s missed many days off work due to stress. Ciara’s son has been diagnosed with Autism, an anxiety disorder, and has ADHD tendencies which cannot be officially diagnosed until he is six.
His shared bedroom leads directly onto the balcony from his window, and even though Ciara keeps this locked at night, she says he’s more than capable of getting the latch open and accessing the balcony. This means that Ciara fears, unless she is monitoring him 24 hours a day, that a tragedy is always a possibility.
Ciara feels her situation warrants a three-bedroom home on a ground floor level, but after appealing the council’s decision to reject this request she has run out of options. Now, she’s considering simply giving up the house and is wondering if returning to emergency homeless accommodation is the only way to resolve the safety concerns.
“I've done my time in homeless accommodation, I don't want to put my kids through that again. But they are leaving me no choice. This is the fifth floor. It’s a matter of time before he gets over it,” she said.
It’s been a struggle for Ciara to figure out who holds the power to resolve her situation, as she’s found herself caught in a loop of responsibility being passed from DCC to Tuath Housing and back again.
“They're throwing it back at each other. DCC says Tuath is your housing body so they can allocate you elsewhere, and Tuath tells me they have to wait on a nomination from DCC. It's literally pass the parcel while you're going back and forth," Ciara said.
The issue is compounded by the anti-social behaviour occurring outside her door, as she’s had strangers accessing the complex and has found drug paraphernalia discarded in the building. "You have men running around threatening people with big machetes, and you have police chasing them three or four times a week," Ciara revealed.
When Dublin Live visited De Verdon Place this June, the lock to a door accessing the main building from the underground car park was completely broken, allowing easy access to the building whenever the car park remains open. Previous incidents of anti-social behaviour have been reported by us, with Tuath previously stating they are actively putting steps in place to address the problems .
But, Ciara says that the lock has been broken for months now. She says that some doors have been made more secure in recent times but that the security issues at De Verdon are far from being resolved, which adds an extra fear of her son accidentally leaving the house alone.
When questioned by Dublin Live about the broken lock, a spokesperson from Tuath said: "In relation to security concerns at the development, the door referenced forms part of the internal access route within the building. Access to the development itself remains controlled through a separate secure entry system."
Ciara says “he has gotten out of that main door” and has used the elevator to get down to the car park “which leads onto the Malahide Road”. She feels her son is captive in their home without many outside outlets, so understandably he wants to get outside and cannot truly comprehend the risks it poses.
With a young son and daughter, Ciara stresses that when they are older she will be entitled to a three-bedroom home due to rules outlining children of opposite sexes over the age of nine do not have to share a room in DCC social housing. “They’re going to have to move me anyway, so why not do it now when it solves everyone's issues?” she pleaded.
“I’ve gotten great reference letters from Tuath Housing. There’s been no anti-social behaviour from us, my rents are actually in credit. I’m doing everything right. They have nothing they can hold against me, but nothing is being done about it. It’s an absolute disgrace - they’re failing so many children with disabilities.”
Tuath Housing have said that "housing allocations, transfer applications (including in-house transfers) and assessments of housing need are matters for Dublin City Council". They added, "Tuath has actively engaged with and advocated on behalf of this resident with Dublin City Council regarding her needs and concerns.
"Tuath works proactively to support residents by coordinating reactive repairs, addressing security concerns and engaging on estate management issues, with the OMC.
"Furthermore, recognising the concerns raised by the resident, Tuath undertook a risk assessment and is arranging for additional window restrictors to be installed to further enhance safety measures within the home."
When contacted for comment, DCC outlined their transfer process and said "inter-transfers are based on an assessment of the household’s overall housing need". "If an applicant’s application for medical priority is refused, an applicant can appeal it within six months of the decision being issued"
DCC said they cannot comment on an individual’s case, but that consideration factors for inter-transfers include "overcrowding or under‑occupation, tenancy and rent records, and the relative demand for accommodation.
"Dublin City Council manages the transfer waiting list through its Adopted Scheme of Lettings. This includes for any available AHB properties. Transfers are prioritised based on the time on the waiting list ensuring all applicants are treated consistently across each waiting list," a spokesperson said.
"Households may reapply for an additional bedroom where new or additional supporting evidence becomes available, and the new application will be reassessed on the updated information. Responsibility for maintenance and estate management, including repairs and security issues, rests with the AHB. However, Dublin City Council continues to engage with all AHB’s and will liaise with Tuath regarding the concerns raised."
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