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Dublin mother of two, Lorraine Ryan, says that she is still waiting to be housed by Dublin City Council despite being on the housing list “for 12 years”.
Last year, Gript visited the house Lorraine has been living in for the past 13 years where she and her two daughters are now over-holding since last November due to being unable to find alternative accommodation.
Lorraine told Gript that over the course of the general election canvassing period she had many promises of help from candidates in her area, but that all but all to no avail.
“We’re still in the same boat,” she said.
“They’re just telling me with the same email that, ‘We’re aware of your case and this is the number you are telling us to contact homeless prevention’,” he said.
“It’s just a standard email,” she said, adding, “They haven’t been in touch to offer us anything,”.
Lorraine said that she had applied for a house close to her current location which she was aware was vacant only to be told that it had been allocated to someone else.
“I got an email to say that there are three other families in similar positions in front of us, but that they’re in homeless accommodation,”.
Lorraine says that she has been offered homeless emergency accommodation but that this is not suitable for her family, as her daughter Rose has mobility issues.
She said that she knows a family who were offered emergency homeless accommodation as a ‘short term solution’, but said that this family had now been in that facility for three years.
“I keep on emailing and getting in touch, and TDs have gotten in touch, Cian O’Callaghan [TD] has sent emails,” she said, adding that she keeps receiving “the same standard email” byway of a response.
She said that Christmas this year “didn’t feel like Christmas”, and that the situation “is just very upsetting”.
“We’re constantly feeling like another shoe is going to drop,” she said, adding, “that sense that something else is going to happen,”.
Lorraine said that the next step her current landlord can take is to go to the Private Tenancies Board.
“She’s been very good waiting for that to happen,” she said, adding, “I know we can’t stay here much longer so we’re just kind of in limbo.”
“We don’t know what’s going to happen next, I keep looking at my phone waiting for emails and phone calls,” she said.
“It’s scary, you know, my two girls are quite upset,” she said, adding, “I thought it would be resolved at this stage,”.
“It’s going on so long and it’s not fair on the landlord,” she said, adding, “she should be able to have her house back, and we’re just stuck.”
“We’re stuck in limbo not knowing, we can’t make any plans for the summer holidays or even to do anything because I don’t know where I’ll be,” she said.
“I think I’ve done everything I possibly can do,” she said, detailing how she has been in contact with councillors and politicians.
“It’s just heartbreaking,” she said, explaining how she’d seen a post on Facebook by a woman who claimed to have been allocated her “forever” home with the help of HAP after two years.
She said she didn’t know whether to believe the post was genuine or not saying, “I’ve been fighting for 12 years,”.
“There doesn’t seem to be one fast and steady rule for the whole thing,” she said.
Lorraine said she often feels as though she has as much if not more chance of winning the lotto as being housed.
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