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Woman (86) facing eviction 'worried about being put out on the street'

Mary Allen's son Michael said she been living in rented accommodation in Listowel for the past 14 years
Jack Quann
Jack Quann

15.52 29 Mar 2023


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Woman (86) facing eviction 'wo...

Woman (86) facing eviction 'worried about being put out on the street'

Jack Quann
Jack Quann

15.52 29 Mar 2023


Share this article


An 86-year-old Kerry woman who is facing eviction is 'continuously worried' she will be put out on the street.

Mary Allen's son Michael said she has been living in rented accommodation in Listowel for the past 14 years.

She was served notice of eviction from her landlord last October.

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Now, with the eviction ban lifting this week, the widower doesn't know where she is going to go.

Michael told Lunchtime Live she is not on the housing list.

"She's been living in accommodation for the last 14 years," he said.

"She's not getting any help from the Government, she's been paying her rent out of her pension every week.

"She wasn't on the housing list when it came to the crunch... and she just didn't want to be in the system at that age.

"I think she was a bit afraid of the system".

'Impossible to get a house through HAP'

Michael said he spoke to the landlord a few years ago about modernising the house.

"He says, 'I'm going to leave it as it is now and I'll leave your mother there until she passes away, and then I'll sell the place'.

"Last year in October he came back with the eviction notice and that's where we are now.

"We tried to get her places, and even with the help from HAP she'd still end up paying €700 a month out of her own pension.

"Her own pension would be less than €850 a month; so it would be impossible for her to get a house through HAP as well".

'Her health has deteriorated'

Michael said he knows his mother is worried.

"I speak to my mother twice a day, every day," he said.

"Her health has deteriorated, she's lost weight, she's worrying about it all the time.

"She tells you she's not worried, but at 86 years of age I think any pressure is too much pressure.

"She'd tell you she isn't [worried] because she's upbeat, but she is very worried.

"She is very forgetful, her memory is going, she's continuously asking about it, and continuously worried about being put out on the street.

"It's having a big effect on her".

'Very short of accommodation'

Michael said he and his sisters don't have room at the moment.

"We all have family in our houses, rooms are full - our mother comes back to different family members some weekends and she stays over," he said.

"It's moving the family around so that mother can stay in a bed.

"We've been looking on the internet high up and low down.

"Listowel is very short of accommodation - I actually e-mailed a house that was up for rent for a very reasonable price last week.

"[The house was] down as 'suitable for an elderly couple'.

"I e-mailed and messaged through social media, and they checked the message but they never got back to me.

"That was the only one that's been available in Listowel for a long time".".

Michael said he has been talking to Kerry County Council's Housing Department for a number of months.

He said while they are still searching for accommodation for her, he has been told "that all the houses that are available in Kerry have been allocated."

Listen back to the full interview below:

Main image: Mary Allen. Picture: Supplied by family

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Eviction Ban HAP Kerry County Council Listowel Lunchtime Live Mary Allen Michael

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