A high rate of illness was found among children living on a local authority halting site, as a result of the poor living conditions there, a new report by the Ombudsman for Children’s Office (OCO) has shown.

According to the report, there were persistent problems with rodent infestations, inadequate sanitation, extreme overcrowding, inadequate waste disposal, inadequate heating systems, unsafe electrical works and a lack of safe play areas for children.

The halting site was established in 1989, and the OCO was initially contacted by a Traveller advocacy group in 2018. At the time, 66 children and their families lived there. Eleven families then came forward and made complaints.

The OCO visited the site on three occasions and met with families living there. According to the Ombudsman for Children, Dr Niall Muldoon, the conditions found there were “deplorable”.

“To think that children in Ireland in 2021 are living like this is utterly shocking. Under no circumstances can this be accepted or allowed to continue,” he commented.

One 12-year-old girl told the OCO that rats “would be running up and down the walls of the trailer”, while one seven-year-old boy said, “we only play in puddles”. Another 12-year-old girl said that it is “like an abandoned place that people forgot about. It’s like we’re forgotten, we feel like garbage”.

In total, around 140 people are using toilets and washing facilities that were designed for just 40 people. The residents noted that this has led to stress, tension and, at times, conflict.

During the OCO’s investigation, the HSE Director of Public Health Nursing told it that the children living on the halting site suffer skin conditions and respiratory problems at a much higher rate than the general population. The Chief Fire Officer also told it that there are frequent calls to the site.

The OCO met with 17 children who said that they feel different to their peers, due to their living conditions.

The investigation found that the local authority failed to consider the best interests of the children living there and had failed to maintain the site. It also found that record keeping was not transparent or accountable, and housing applications were incomplete or unprocessed. This means that families may have missed out on moving up the housing list, or being offered a home.

The report made a number of recommendations, including:

-The health and safety risks identified must be addressed in cooperation with residents, including connecting all mobile units to plumbing and sewerage, removing fire hazards, clearing the children’s passage to school, waste management, pest control and electrical works

-The housing applications complaints made by the 11 families involved in this case should be reviewed without delay

-The local authority should establish a specific complaint handling mechanism or amend the current complaint process, to ensure it is easily accessible and effective in managing complaints

-It is also recommended that the local authority engages the HSE social inclusion unit, Tusla, youth services and local schools to improve the lives of the children living on the site.

The OCO said that the local authority responsible for maintaining this site and dealing with housing applications from the residents “has cooperated with this long investigation, and it has agreed a number of specific actions in response to our recommendations”.

The report, No End in Site, can be viewed here.