A mum facing eviction with her two children from their home in north Dublin has said that they will have to sleep in a van because they can't find alternative accommodation.
The woman, who spoke to Dublin Live on the condition of anonymity, said that she was contacted by phone on 10 August last year by her landlord's son and received the eviction notice on 1 September for the property she was renting in north Dublin. She explained that her former landlady had passed away a year ago last March, and that the landlady's son is now selling the house and has given the Dublin mother a notice to vacate the house by May 1, 2023.
The single mum has two young children aged 10 and 11, her son has autism and her daughter has additional needs, and she is worried for their future. She told Dublin Live: "Five years ago I separated from my husband and back then we were homeless, the housing crisis was around back then but it wasn't as bad. Then we found a place to rent and we've been here five years.
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"My son has autism and he really struggled five years ago, but everything settled down and my daughter has additional needs as well. She's in a unit, so it's really important that we stay around the area for their schools.
"I got my eviction last August because the lady who owned the house has died. I'm really grateful for being able to have the house for five years," she said.
The mum has looked around for new accommodation for her family in north Dublin, and has so far applied for "over 80 houses" and so far she hasn't gotten any viewings. She said: "The situation now I've got just over a month left and my son is autistic so I need a plan in place for him. He needs to know where we're going and what we're doing, if he doesn't know where he is going it's going to cause carnage with his school and mental health.
"It's just going to really, really unsettle him and will have a knock-on affect where he will be suicidal." On Monday, the mum made the difficult decision to close up her business.
She explained: "I started up my business two years ago on the mobile side of things in the last year with the van I've paid a lot of money to have the van converted. But now I've had to make the decision to close that and we're going to have to live in that van.
"It's something I've worked so hard to get up and running and to work around my children is going to have to go." She described her situation as "very frustrating" but that she can't just sit around and wait for Government ministers to help her family, and that she has contacted TDs in her local area but it has not come to any resolution.
Thinking outside the box, the brave Dublin mum has come up with a plan for her family to live inside a customised van so that they can still attend their schools in the area until until they can find more permanent accommodation.
"At least with the van they'll know this is going to be your bed every single night, then I can say they know the plan they know it's there. If I can provide that stability for them then that's the way it is going to have to be for the moment," she added.
The Dublin mum has contacted Dublin City Council and Fingal Council for assistance, and that she was told her son is not considered a priority on the housing list because they have a roof over their head at the moment. She explained: "So until we're actually physically homeless we won't be given priority. But what I'm trying to do is I'm trying to prevent being homeless, I'm trying to prevent his mental health deteriorating and all of our mental heath."
She added: "Not having a home is horrendous and traumatic for children. The house is going to be sold, the lady who owned it died last March and her son lives in the UK and the house is going to be sold. The eviction ban is flabbergasting as well, I'm astounded.
"I applied for apartments last September when they first started building them, I rang the letting company and they said they'd put us on the list, but around Christmas time I heard the Government had outbidded for the nine apartments and the letting agency was going to give them to go to refugees and not give anyone else a chance. I can understand with refugees, but it should have been fair, it should have been half for refugees and people already integrated in the community."
Despite the difficult situation that they are facing, she and her family are trying to stay positive. She said: "I can either put my energy into doing something positive and secure for my kids, or I can put it into a losing battle. It's really, really disheartening, there are hundreds of people [like us] and I'm not even getting any viewings so I just have to be productive here and think outside the box.
"I don't know how long we can last in the van, I need to sort out water supplies and electricity. I have to think outside the box, it's not ideal I still have loans to pay for then I have to figure out how I'm going to provide that income to pay for my loans, it is crazy."
Dublin Live has contacted the landlord for comment.
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