Woman left with no electricity or running water in an apartment in Waterford
The bottles that Ms Foley must bring to her friends and family to fill up.
Catherine Foley is a woman at her wits' end.
She has been on the waiting list for a council house since 2002. In 2010, Ms Foley was taken off the waiting list due to anti-social behaviour, a decision Waterford City and County Council later admitted to being a mistake. Ms Foley has never been convicted of this crime, nor has she ever lived in a council house.
She is currently living in an apartment just off O’Connell Street.
When the visited her home just before Christmas, it was freezing cold. Catherine couldn’t offer me a cup of tea as she has no running water, she couldn’t even turn on the light in the room where I met her because she has no electricity.
She and her two daughters and her niece have been living without running water, electricity and heating for three years.
Large containers line her dark hallway – she must walk to the homes of her friends and family and ask to fill up her bottles so she can cook and clean.
“I’ve never had a stable home to raise my children in,” she said.
An inspection carried out by Waterford City and County Council in 2023, as the accommodation comes under the HAP scheme, identified 25 problems. Issues identified included a broken shower, a broken washing machine and dryer, and the extractor fan for the oven didn’t work.
None of these issues were resolved, so Catherine informed her landlord that she would not pay rent until the issues were resolved.
Not long after, her water was cut off.
“I do owe rent – but why should I pay for something that you wouldn’t let an animal live in?”
The apartment is privately rented. Due to the decrepit state of the accommodation, Catherine refuses to pay rent until the landlord turns back on her electricity, heating and water, as well as fixes key appliances such as the shower.
The council were contacted about this but told the that they did not comment on individual cases. Ms Foley's landlord also declined to comment.
Catherine’s electricity plan is pre-pay; she has paid for her electricity independently yet it has been cut off.
But Catherine says her fight is with the Council, not her landlord.
Catherine told the that a staff member in the housing department of Waterford City and County Council told Ms Foley not to bid on a house in a Choice Based Letting Scheme, that she would get a “brand new house” after Christmas. This house has yet to materialise.
“It's easy for her to tell me to wait until Christmas – she’s not living where I’m living.
“What I’m going through, my kids are going through as well. It shouldn’t be like that.”
Ms Foley didn’t put up a Christmas tree this year – what’s the point with no electricity to turn on the lights?
Ms Foley suffers from asthma and has had to go on a nebuliser due to the damp in the apartment. Her mental health has also been severely impacted by this, combined with the recent death of her father.
Ms Foley is trying to improve her life and her children's lives. As well as fighting for a stable home for her family for over 20 years, she is now enrolled in a PSA License Course to qualify as a security guard. Although promised that she would have a council house after Christmas, Ms Foley is still left, waiting in the dark.
