'I cried when I got the letter': Tipperary woman  living in shed is offered council home

Bernadett Webster, sitting outside her temporary home in Mullinahoe, Co Tipperary. Picture: BrendanGleeson

A family who have been living in a shed in Co Tipperary since last May have been offered a home by the county council.

Bernadette Webster, 58, said she "cried" when she and her son received the letter notifying them that a council house was available for them to live in.

However, there have been criticisms over how Tipperary County Council handled the case, which was highlighted in the Irish Examiner last weekend. The family said that they lodged appeals "over the last six and a half months" without success.

"It should have never come to this," said Ms Webster, pointing to how she feels the family needed to go public with their ordeal to achieve a solution.

There have been calls from the National Women's Council of Ireland to "urgently" improve access to stable housing for anyone fleeing domestic abuse, as in the case of Ms Webster, who exited the council housing list after she left the home she shared with a violent partner.

This led to a series of unstable arrangements, from shelters to hostels, until the family obtained a tenancy with a private landlord. However the family were evicted earlier this year following the lease's expiration.

Ms Webster paid thanks to Anja Norman, a Swedish vet near Mullinahone in east Co Tipperary, who provided the shed for Ms Webster and her 35-year-old son.

Anja Norman and Bernadette Webster. Picture: Brendan Gleeson

A second family, who have a five-year-old child, have also sought refuge at the farm in a portable building until Kilkenny County Council can find them accommodation.

"I'll never be able to thank Anja enough for what she's done for us," said Ms Webster. "She's one in a million.

"I cried when we got the letter yesterday. 

It's a council property and it means no more landlords and no more Daft; we deleted it off the phone last night. My son said to me: 'We don't need this anymore, Ma.' "

Ms Webster said she hoped others did not need to do what she did to find a home. 

"It shouldn't be that way at all," she said. "It should have never come to this."

Tipperary Sinn Féin TD Martin Browne said more should have been done to provide accommodation.

"It's been escalating for the last four years and it's now in the much smaller towns in rural Ireland," he said, with in excess of 3,500 people on the housing waiting list locally.

It's crazy to think that in 2022 we have people living in sheds. 

I agree that the council should have been more proactive here, although in a way their hands are tied to what funding they're getting from central Government."

Bernadett Webster at her temporary home. Picture: Brendan Gleeson

He supported the NWCI's call for more secure accommodation for people fleeing domestic violence. If someone "leaves local authority housing because of violence", it can be "held against them" as they must wait 18 months to two years until they can apply for council housing again, he added.

NWCI director Orla O'Connor said the implementation of the third national strategy on domestic, sexual, and gender-based violence needed to be fully funded.

"Domestic abuse is the leading cause of homelessness for women and children in Ireland," she said.

There is an urgent need to improve access to safe and stable housing and to ensure a range of housing options tailored for women fleeing domestic abuse." 

She added that there must be clear pathways into longer-term accommodation out of refuges.

Tipperary County Council did not respond to a request for comment. It said last Friday that it was trying to find accommodation for the Websters.