Kilkenny family’s plea over mould and leaks in house

A Kilkenny mother is pleading with Kilkenny County Council for help as she and her family continue to live in ‘abnormal conditions’.

Bernadette Keane, who currently resides in a council home in the city has told the Kilkenny People she fears for the health of her special needs son, now aged 20.

In 2017, a new family shower was installed to cater for the needs of Bernadette’s son. However, following the installation, leaks began to emerge through the ceiling and mould on the walls of the home according to Ms Keane. Subsequently, a new shower was installed in 2019 with the same issues re-occurring.

“It’s been a constant over the last eight years,” the local woman said.

“When the water isn’t coming down through the sitting room ceiling, it’s coming back up, into the shower room when we’re having a shower, flooding the whole bathroom. I’m there and I could be mopping up four times a day, which I have gotten fed up with as I have arthritis. So in the last week, I have just left a towel up there.

“I’m just wondering to myself now, where is that water logging? It has to be logging somewhere and the cracks in the ceiling are getting worse now.”

However, despite the inconvenience, the local mother’s frustration stems from the fear of what may happen and the negative impact the situation has had on her family’s day to day lives.

“I won’t turn on the light in my sitting room,” she claimed, adding, “the only way I can have light in the sitting room is through the light in my kitchen or I have a light attached to my sitting room cupboard.”

The welfare of those living in the house has also been put in harm’s according to Ms Keane.

“The black mould issue is still there. I have to constantly bleach, with the smell making us unwell.”

The concerned parent also asserts that she and her son have visited their GP and hospital and are worried about any potential impacts on their health.

“It’s abnormal the way we’re living,” Ms Keane stated.

Kilkenny County Council has been contacted for comment.