‘I asked myself, where would I go with my children?’ – Working mothers face Christmas homeless in Meath
When Ernestina Aikins and Rose Iwu moved to Ireland earlier this year, they did so with a shared hope: that their children would have “better opportunities” and “brighter futures”. Instead, both women now face their first Christmas homeless, living in emergency accommodation with their families.
Ms Aikins (48) and Ms Iwu (43) are both EU citizens who previously lived in Italy. Speaking to the Irish Independent, they described how a combination of Ireland’s housing crisis, administrative barriers and repeated moves between emergency accommodation have left their families “traumatised” and uncertain about the future.
Latest figures show 16,755 people accessed emergency accommodation in October, including 5,274 children.
For Ms Aikins, who is originally from Ghana and had lived in Italy for 17 years, the decision to come to Ireland was centred on her children’s education.
“What moved me to Ireland was the time I took my children to Ghana and my oldest daughter could not speak English,” she said.
“It was so bad that she could not communicate with her relatives. So I decided to move to Ireland to give my children better opportunities in life.”
Ms Aikins arrived in Ireland in February alone and eventually brought her two of three children and began working as a carer in Navan.
She said she tried to secure private rented accommodation before leaving Italy, but was only able to arrange a short-term let.
“I’m a working mum, I’m a European citizen and I pay my taxes,” she said. “I’m ready to rent a house, but I just can’t get one.”
Despite attending viewings, she said she rarely received responses. “Sometimes I’m asked if I can even afford the rent,” she said.
Ms Aikins and her six-year-old son Kingsley and 17-year-old daughter Chrystabal were initially placed in emergency accommodation in Slane. While the early-morning commute to her children’s school in Johnstown meant getting up at 5.30am, she said they were “coping”.
“The accommodation in Slane was of good standard,” she said.
However, when she applied for social housing, Ms Aikins said she was told she did not qualify because she had not worked in Ireland for 52 weeks. She was also informed she would have to leave the accommodation she was in.
“I had nowhere else to go. I was homeless,” she said. “I asked myself, where would I go with my children? My son is just six.”
“This made me sad. The pain in my chest was heavy,” she said. “My son asked me, ‘Mummy, where are we going?’ and I told him I did not know.”
The family was subsequently moved to emergency accommodation in Drogheda, located a significant distance from the town centre, requiring a 30-minute walk to the bus station with her two children.
At the start of December, they were moved again — this time to another accommodation in Drogheda Ms Aikins claims is infested with cockroaches and “away from everything they’ve come to know.”
“They [the cockroaches] were in our beds, crawling out of the walls and on the floor,” she said. “My six-year-old has been very upset and he couldn’t sleep.”
Despite being told by some people that she should “simply return to Italy”, Ms Aikins said Ireland had begun to feel like home.
“Since we’ve been here, my daughter has become more expressive and confident,” she said. “That has made me happy.”
“I lived in Italy for 17 years. I have lived my life. Now I want my children to be able to do the same here.”
Her “goal”, she said, is to find a home for her family. “To make my family happy.”
“This will be the first Christmas we are spending homeless,” she said. “Last year we were having fun. This year, I know it won’t be the same.”
“My son made a friend and was invited to their house. I can’t bring myself to let him go and come back to compare everything that he does not have.”
Another working mother, Rose Iwu, also finds herself homeless with her children this Christmas.
Ms Iwu, who is originally from Nigeria and became an EU citizen after living in Italy for more than two decades, received an eviction notice from her landlord and needed to move out on December 1.
She had been renting under a licence agreement — a growing practice that housing advocates warn leaves tenants without protections.
On the first night of homelessness, Ms Iwu and her 19-year-old daughter Jenny and 17-year-old son Prince were forced to sleep on the floor of a local business.
With Ms Iwu working in Navan, Jenny attending college in Dunboyne and Prince in school in Navan, the family was placed in emergency accommodation in Drogheda. They now all live in a single room with bunk beds.
“My children deserve to fully live their life as a teenager and a young adult,” Ms Iwu said. “I could have never imagined myself to be in a situation like this.”
With Christmas approaching, she described this as “the worst Christmas” her family has ever faced.
In a statement, Meath County Council said emergency accommodation is “by its nature, a short-term measure”.
“Placements are generally provided on a night-by-night basis,” the council said.
“The Council’s Settlement Team regularly reviews all placements in line with overall demand and the availability of homeless services. For this reason, we cannot guarantee that a household will remain in the same emergency accommodation for the duration of their stay.”
“From time to time, households may need to be relocated to ensure the efficient and effective operation of the service and to meet the needs of all clients accessing emergency accommodation.”
“Where families with school-going children are concerned, the Council makes every effort to place them in accommodation close to their schools where possible or in locations with suitable transport links to the town where the school is located.”
In response to queries regarding eligibility for social housing, the council outlined the criteria under Housing Circular 41/2012, which states that EEA nationals may be considered if they are in employment or meet certain conditions related to prior employment, illness or unemployment. Income assessments are based on household means over the preceding 12 months, in line with national regulations.
The experiences of both women, and several other families, were raised at the December meeting of Navan Municipal District by independent councillor Alan Lawes, who has been supporting the families.
“Originally, I invited these homeless families to attend this meeting in order for you to hear their stories before you voted on an emergency motion,” Cllr Lawes told councillors.
He said the motion, which related to a proposed hostel development at the junction of Kentstown and Metges Road, was withdrawn shortly before the meeting.
“I thought it was very important that all councillors, all our officials and the general public heard these families’ stories,” he said, “in order to understand how desperately short we are of suitable quality emergency accommodation and how urgently we need more beds.”