Four single mothers and their 10 children are facing eviction from a group of illegally-built homes in Co Wicklow. Ronan McGreevyreports.
Wicklow County Council's planning department has brought enforcement proceedings against the owner of six houses in the village of Rathdrum.
Leslie Armstrong is due in the Circuit Court sitting in Bray on February 7th.
The proceedings have been brought by the council which alleges that he has not complied with enforcement notices going back to 2003.
A statement from the council said it is 2½ years since Mr Armstrong was ordered to demolish and reinstate the site, and failure to comply will see him facing a jail sentence.
However, it has emerged that the council's housing department approved for the same women and their families to live in the houses at Knockadosan.
Linda Gahan (25), who resides in one of the houses with her five-year-old daughter Chloe, said the council told her that she and the others would have to find their own private rented accommodation or go to the local hostel.
She said the council knew she was living there when she applied for rent allowance in 2005. The approval of the local authority was necessary before she was able to receive rent allowance from the Health Service Executive (HSE).
The council said its role was merely to sign a rent allowance form on request from somebody on the housing list and "this is in no way an endorsement of their present accommodation".
However, Ms Gahan said she was surprised that the council had not queried the legal status of the houses. "Nobody paid any attention in the housing department as to whether these houses were built legally or not," she said.
Mr Armstrong said he built the houses illegally and had applied for retention, but was refused. "I made a mistake and I admitted the mistake. I have said I'll obey the order and I'll take my punishment. I've lost a lot of money on this. The council has the legal right to ask me to knock down the houses, but morally, surely to God they should leave the children and the ladies there until they have accommodation for them," he said.
On New Year's Eve workmen employed by Mr Armstrong began demolishing the house next door to Ms Gahan. This left holes in the gable of the exposed wall. There is dampness on the walls of Ms Gahan's bedroom and bathroom, and a black mould.
Earlier this week workmen dismantled the porch canopies and gutters of all six houses. Ms Gahan said the dust and the dampness had exacerbated her daughter's asthma.
Next door, Janet Byrne (26) lives with her two children Angel (4) and Sky (2). "I have nowhere else to go. My parents' house is full," said Ms Byrne. "The council told me that there was so many people in front of me on the list. There was nothing they could do."
Local councillor Jimmy O'Shaughnessy said he has spent four days lobbying the council for alternative accommodation, but Rathdrum currently has 145 people on its waiting list.
"We have a situation where there is very little rented accommodation. They are all full up. We are building 19 houses in Rathdrum which we hope will come on stream in May or June of this year. We have four vacant houses at the moment. There is no guarantee that these unfortunate people are going to get county council houses. They would be considered just like everybody else."
A council official said its policy was not to comment on individual cases, but "a number of people on the housing list in Rathdrum will be considered for housing in the near future".