'All we want is a home of our own' - Nenagh couple

By Brendan Murphy

The current housing crisis is having such an effect on people’s lives right around the country. The shortfall in supply of both private and social housing and the current house prices and high rates of rent are resulting in families not being able to afford a home of their own.

Nenagh couple Gemma Donnellan and her partner Eddie Shoer are doing their best to secure a home for themselves and their two little girls Renelle, aged almost two, and Layla, aged just four months.

After failing to secure a home of their own due to the housing crisis, Gemma, Renelle and Layla had no option but to move back into Gemma’s mother’s house, which is already overcrowded, while Eddie had to go and live with a friend nearby.

The couple have been approved for social housing with Tipperary County Council, but due to the shortfall in supply of available houses, like many others Gemma and Eddie have had to simply join the long list of approved social housing applicants.

The young family have been through some really hard times and at one point found themselves homeless and, on the streets, when Renelle was less than a year old.

Gemma’s mother took herself, Renelle and Layla in under her roof despite the house being already overcrowded.

The situation is less than ideal, and despite Gemma’s mum’s best intentions to house them, they find themselves in an overcrowded house with no privacy.

The house is also damp and has mould on the walls of two of the rooms, which is not a good environment for any of them particularly for Layla who has been diagnosed as having cardiac complications.

The couple have submitted reports to the housing department of Tipperary County Council to make them aware of the seriousness and urgency of their situation and need to secure a warm and damp-free home for the couple and their little baby girls.

LUCKY TO BE ALIVE

On Wednesday, January 8, the unthinkable happened: Gemma was at home in her mother’s house with Renelle and Layla when the stove in the sitting room exploded.

The room where Gemma and the girls were sitting in filled with smoke within seconds. Gemma, who was in a state of utter shock and panic, acted swiftly and gathered the two girls as quick as she could and ran out of the house.

The conditions outside were cold and icy and she had to be careful as she made her way out of the smoking house with the two little girls in arm as the pavement was covered in black ice.

The fire brigade was contacted immediately and arrived without delay to attend the fire emergency inside the house.

Gemma was conscious that both Renelle and Layla had inhaled some of the smoke that had quickly filled the room following the explosion and so she brought them to her GP and Shannondoc, who referred them to University Hospital Limerick.

Fortunately, both Renelle and Layla are okay, but they are extremely lucky that Gemma acted quickly and got them out of the smoke-filled room.

Tipperary County Council was quick to help the couple after hearing about the incident and immediately brought up heaters as a temporary measure so the household would have some form of heat, particularly with the weather been so cold.

The council workers returned the following day to start work on the stove and chimney as the fire brigade had no option but to remove the chimney lining to make the area safe following the explosion. One of the workers told Gemma that they were lucky to be alive after the incident with the stove.

As the young couple begin to overcome this latest challenge, their quest continues to try and secure a place that they can call home.

The couple have cited a council house at St Joseph’s Park that has been vacant for some time. Both Gemma and Eddie grew up in St Joseph’s Park and would like to remain in the estate as they have friends and family living nearby. The couple are making an appeal to the council to consider this as an option as it would be the perfect solution to their housing needs. “All we want is a home of our own, and to be united and live under one roof as a family,” the couple said.