I thank the Ceann Comhairle for selecting the issue of the regeneration programme in Dublin for discussion on the Adjournment. In recent years, especially during the Celtic tiger, "regeneration" was the buzzword in Dublin and other urban centres. For residents of flat complexes in my constituency of Dublin South Central, including St. Teresa's Gardens, St. Michael's Estate and Dolphin House, regeneration was the key to a new beginning.
For many years, residents had been promised better living conditions and finally, through public private partnerships, their homes were to be repaired and, in some cases, rebuilt. Many communities seized the opportunity with both hands and benefited from an injection of funding into local authority housing complexes. An excellent example of this is Fatima Mansions in Rialto.
With the downturn in the economy and a severe lack of funding, however, the chance for regeneration has passed by many communities. People are left with empty promises and feel cast aside by a Government which is too busy helping the banks and developers, who brought this country to its knees. Hundreds of local authority tenants are now living in substandard conditions with dampness, mould and sewage an everyday reality. We were all shocked and horrified last week by the story of Dolphin House where residents are living in deplorable conditions with sewage coming up their sinks and black mould on the walls. This is contributing to health problems such as asthma and bronchitis.
A recent survey in Dolphin House showed that the number of residents reporting dampness in Dolphin House was 71%; the number of people reporting mould was 65%; and the number of people reporting sewage problems was 89%. Many people say that these people pay very little rent. Some residents in Dolphin House pay up to €120 a week to live in these conditions. How, in a developed country, can the Government and especially the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government stand by and do nothing? The Government has a duty of care to the residents of these flat complexes, both through the housing Acts, and through public health requirements, but it chooses to ignore it.
The council claims its hands are tied because funding from the Department of the Environment, Heritage and Local Government has dried up. Nothing has dried up in Dolphin House and particularly not the sewage. The Minister, Deputy Ó Cuív, knows Dolphin House well as he has been there on many occasions. Dolphin House and many other flat complexes have strong communities with people who are proud to live where they are. Generations have grown up rooted in the community where they live. They have supported the idea of regeneration from the start, initially through the consultation process and now through the development of a master plan for Dolphin House. However, the problem of funding still remains, and once the master plan is complete, there is no certainty that change will happen.
The bottom line is that the human rights of these people, their right to proper housing and sanitation, are being totally disregarded which is unacceptable and cannot continue. It is vital that the Government takes action on the issue of housing conditions and on the broader issue of regeneration. The Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government must step up and take responsibility for the deplorable living conditions with which many residents of our city-centre flat complexes are forced to deal every day. When I go home in the evening I can turn on my tap and have clear running water as, no doubt, can the Minister. For many people in Dolphin House that does not happen. The water running out of their taps is contaminated with sewage. For many people living in Dolphin House when they put on their washing machines what comes out are clothes that are destroyed and need to be discarded.
Residents are fed up with broken promises from the Government and want action. We want the Government to take responsibility for all the residents of Dolphin House and St. Teresa's Gardens. It is time to start again in order to give these people some chance of living in dignity in their homes. I invite the Minister and the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government to visit Dolphin House again and to visit the homes of the many people who live there and need to deal with the conditions. I believe in the regeneration of communities and I believe in strong communities. I also believe that the people living in Dolphin House, St. Teresa's Gardens and St. Michael's Estate have rights.