The Wexford Echo has learned that a seven-month pregnant woman is currently homeless and sleeping, along with her husband, on the sitting room floor of her parents’ house.
The 20-year-old woman Mary Connors was discharged from hospital last week following a series of pregnancy complications associated with diabetes and now has nowhere to go. She is just one of the cases of homelessness currently being assisted by grassroots advocacy group Action4you.
Mrs Connors is a cousin of the Carrickmines’ fire victims and a niece of All-Ireland handball champions Jim and Michael Berry.
Mary Connors and her husband Andrew were living in a caravan in the back garden of her grandparent’s house on the Redshire Road in Murrintown. Six months ago upon discovering that she was expecting her first child Mrs Connors contacted Wexford County Council to apply for social housing.
When she revealed that she was already living in a caravan, the local authority informed her that the trailer would have to be removed immediately from the site which is a council owned home.
The couple were forced to remove the caravan and were made homeless. Although Mary’s parents’ house is already over-crowded, they had no choice but to return to live with Mary’s parents’ house, while they awaited approval for the council’s housing waiting list.
Approval for this list is a pre-cursor to receiving rent supplement in the private rental sector.
Mary’s mother Alice Berry has described the situation as “close to hell”.
Mrs Berry and her husband Tom Berry, brother of All Ireland hand ball champions Jim and Michael Berry, reside at a three bedroom house in Sycamore Drive, Wexford Town. The house is occupied by mother and father Alice and Tom, daughter Mary and her husband Andrew, son Patrick and his wife Elizabeth along with their baby Tom (six months), son Jim (13) and daughter Margaret (10).
The mother-of-four described the situation as being “very bad for any family”.
“It’s not a healthy situation. No one has personal space. I want my children to learn to rear their families themselves and have their own homes, this is not good for anyone,” said Mrs Berry.
The couple’s eldest daughter Alice is physically unwell, having suffered significant pregnancy complications. She is expected to deliver her baby prematurely in December due to diabetes.
“We are heartbroken that she had to leave her trailer. I’m not saying that it was perfect but it was her home. She is going to become a mother now and I want her to learn to do all of the things that I learned and that means making a home for your children,” she said.
The caravan was situated in the back garden of her grandparents’ home and had no access to running water. The couple used the grandparent’s washing facilities inside of the house.
“I’m not saying that it was perfect, but it was their own. They weren’t bothering anyone there. It’s a huge yard and it was nice for her to be close to her grandparents as well.”
Wexford County Council instructed the family to remove the caravan, because the house is owned by the council and no permission was sought prior to the caravan being set up there.
Mary and Andrew Connors were waiting almost six months for confirmation that they were approved to be added to the social housing waiting list. During this time they were unable to avail of rent allowance to assist them in securing a house in the private rental sector.
Two days after the Carrickmines’ fire Mrs Connors was contacted by the local authority to inform her that her application had been approved and a letter was issued confirming her entitlement to claim rent allowance.
Mrs Berry is an immediate relation of the fire victims. She lived for over twenty years “just around the corner” from them.
“I was up in Dublin at a mass for my cousins when Mary phoned me to tell me that she had been approved.”
The family spent the following days making enquiries with local letting agents and searching property advertisements on websites such as Daft, but to no avail.
“It was heart-breaking for her. Everyone she rang would say that it wasn’t suitable for her when they realised she was a Connors. She tried to arrange viewings, but she just can’t find anywhere,” said her mother.
Mrs Berry is highly critical of the attitudes of many local landlords.
“My husband’s brothers are great sportsmen. It’s all well and good when the Berrys are bringing All Ireland handball medals home to Wexford, everyone is proud of them then. But then they don’t mind us being homeless!”
However she maintains that her own landlords are an exception to the norm.
“I am in this house four years now and the couple that are our landlords are the two nicest people I have ever met. We are blessed and I have great time for them. They are two genuinely kind people.”
Mrs Berry notes that her husband first met their landlord through handball when both men were attending a tournament in the City West Hotel, where her brothers-in-law were competing. Through this acquaintance they became his tenants and Mrs Berry says that she appreciates their landlords’ open-mindedness.