Thomas Gould: Housing crisis - black mould, cold flats ignored
Thomas Gould presents results from a state-wide housing survey and confronts the Minister over chronic living conditions. He details widespread black mould, damp and year-round cold in flats and calls for government accountability.
Survey findings
Thomas Gould cites survey data gathered across the state: 83% of respondents reported maintenance issues with black mould, and 77% reported damp. He uses these figures to challenge the Minister's earlier remarks and to show the scale of the problem in social housing.
Health and living conditions
Gould describes the impact of cold, damp and black mould on vulnerable residents - young people, people with asthma, COPD and disabilities - and condemns the failure to retrofit and regenerate aging flat complexes in Dublin, Cork and elsewhere. He says residents keep their homes immaculate but cannot overcome structural decay.
Accountability and political consequences
Gould blames successive governments and specific parties for abandoning working-class communities, arguing ministers should visit affected flats rather than deflect blame onto councils or residents. He presses for immediate action on repairs, retrofitting and regeneration to protect public health and housing rights.
We publish thousands of recordings to make Irish politics transparent and resistant to manipulation. Spotted an error? Report it — together we are building a reliable archive of Irish politics.
Minister, recently I undertook a housing survey right across the state. This is it. There's more information in this than in everything you or Minister Cummings said earlier on because these are the facts and I'll give you a few facts. 83% of people said they had maintenance issues with black mould. Black mould all over their house. 77% of people said they're damp, right. These are major issues and just to let you know Minister, the damage black mould, damp, cold, can do to people in their homes. Young people, people with asthma, COPD, people with disabilities and then when you take some Dublin City Council and others trying to increase rents, these people have to leave the heating on constantly and then you hear Ministers talking about the summer is coming, the flats are cold, doesn't matter if it's the winter or the summer, the flats are cold all year round because they never got retrofitting, they never got regeneration and you come in here with all your facts and figures. I tell you, I asked you, I asked Darryl O'Brien, Mary Luaschi today, come out to the flats in Dublin, in the city and in Cork and see what people are putting up with. I've been in some of the flat complexes in Dublin. I've met them with the people like I've met them in Cork. The conditions are horrendous. These are proud people from proud communities who keep their houses immaculate. They try to do everything right but if the windows are falling out, if the doors are loose, if you've got no insulation and no proper heating, what are you supposed to do? Some of these flats are 80, 90 years old and you come in here and say the government is going to do this and then you try to blame local authorities and blame the council and then you try to blame the residents. You try to blame everyone. You're the minister, you're the government, but you know what's wrong? Fianna Fáil and Fianna Gael have never given a damn about working-class people. You never care about people who live in flats because they never voted for you because you know why? You've abandoned them and betrayed them for years. Are you living Cathedral Road? Behind me is Mary Aitkenhead. The houses are freezing cold. You go out to Blackpool, you go to Castle Marker Street, you go to Baker's Road. Freezing cold homes and what are you doing blaming everyone instead of doing your job?
Thank you for downloading 🙏
If you publish this material on social media, we would be very grateful if you tagged VideoParliament. It helps us reach more people and keep building a transparent archive of Irish politics.
