Skibbereen family will be homeless ‘within days'

WITH their ‘notice to quit’ period rapidly running out, a young family in Skibbereen say they will be made homeless within a week.

And they have urged local landlords with available property to consider them as possible tenants. Katie Robinson (25) said that despite her best efforts and those of her husband, Andrew, they have been unable to find another home to rent in Skibbereen.

‘We’ve looked at everything,’ she said. ‘We’ve also looked at everything west of Skibbereen and there is nothing. There are some empty houses but a lot of letting agents have been reluctant to let to families on rent allowance.

‘They don’t say that outright. In fact, it is illegal to say that, but there can be no other explanation,’ said Katie, adding that the couple has always brought along a cash deposit, a month’s rent, and character and work references.

Katie, who has lived in West Cork for the last 23 years, told C103’s Patricia Messenger recently that some of the houses they viewed, and were refused, are still on the market. The situation for this couple and their three young children – aged from 18mts to six – has become dire because they have been asked to leave the house they’ve been renting for the last three years, by Monday, May 30th.

‘The landlord is keen to sell the house because he no longer finds it viable to rent. He has been fair with us, as we have been with him. Unfortunately, he is not in a position to extend the date of the termination, so as of 9am on Monday we will, technically, be homeless.’

Katie and Andrew have been on to Fianna Fáil TD Margaret Murphy-O’Mahony, who is going to great lengths to try and get them a Council house, as is the Council’s own housing agency, but nothing has been resolved to date.

‘This is a last ditch appeal to anyone with a house to consider us. We are good people and we would be good tenants,’ Katie pleaded.