Dolphin’s Barn in human rights move

RESIDENTS in Dublin’s Dolphins Barn, who claim they are living with health-threatening damp, mould and sewage, are to have their case heard before an unprecedented human rights commission panel.

The evidence will be given next Tuesday before a panel of experts by a residents’ group living in local authority housing. It is the first time such a hearing has taken place in this country.

Dolphin House is Dublin’s second largest remaining public housing flat complex, covering an 18.5-acre site with 436 units.

Late last year, Dublin City Council abandoned plans to regenerate their flat complex following the collapse of a public private partnership.

The 1950s estate of 346 flats in 14 four-storey blocks was to have been demolished and replaced with 300 social and affordable units, 300 private apartments, retail and commercial units, and community buildings.

It is understood residents of Dolphin’s Barn first approached a Northern Irish body, the Participation and the Practice of Rights Project, a body which campaigns for social justice issues mainly in Belfast, which has resulted in the first human rights hearing on housing conditions.

The residents’ case is predicated on the claim that their living experiences violate the UN Convention on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, which Ireland has ratified.

The convention obliges the state to ensure that a certain quality of life is guaranteed to all citizens. Within this, there is a particular obligation to provide adequate housing that protects from cold, damp or health threats.

The panel to which residents will outline their concerns includes Dr Maurice Manning, president of the Irish Human Rights Commission, and NUIG lecturer Dr Pádraic Kenna, who specialises in housing law and policy.

Meanwhile, as part of Dublin City Council’s social inclusion week, Amnesty International Ireland are set to take part in a public talk on Thursday afternoon looking at excluded groups in the community.

Amnesty International’s presentation will look at the social exclusion and discrimination faced by people with mental health problems and the event will also include speakers representing people with HIV/AIDS and lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender people.