Residents of a Dublin city flat complex say they're being overrun with rats, which they're finding inside and outside their homes and even in their cars.
People living at the Oliver Bond complex in the south inner city say they've complained to the local authority but the problem remains.
One man caught 14 of the rodents in his flat.
Lynette Lyons, one of the residents, says rats are visible all day, every day;
"They're running across the children's feet and all, the children can't even play in playgrounds due to the rats coming out and running across the kid's feet...a neighbour knocked on me dad's door last week to tell him that there was two huge rats on his window ledge so therefore we can't even open up windows."
She believes it's down to the location of the bins in the complex and that there's not enough bins for the number of flats.
Council statement
Dublin city council say it is aware of the rat problem and is actively dealing with the issue. The local authority says a number of steps have been taken, including;
- A large number of repairs to the pipe network in the complex in October and November 2019.
- Staff from Housing Maintenance and the local Estate office have been on site on an ongoing basis and met with a number of tenants.
- A further survey is to be carried out this week to inspect shores with the necessary action to be taken.
- Shores in the complex have been baited on a weekly basis while the old bin chambers have also started to be baited.
The local authority say it had instances where rats had eaten through brickwork in manholes and somehow managed to get by trap gullies on the roadways.
The flat complex's close proximity to the river Liffey, the recent warm weather and drop in footfall in the area are also being blamed for the rat infestation.
