By Tara McGivern

Galway City Councillor Helen Ogbu has called for an audit of the damp and mould problem affecting tenants in the city.

It comes as Galway Pulse uncovered that the city council holds no records of HAP and RAS complaints about mould.

This is in contrast to Galway County Council which does keep a record of such complaints.

Between 2024 and 2025 Galway County Council received 124 complaints about mould issues in HAP and RAS social housing, Galway Pulse has learned.  

In a response to a Freedom of Information request, Galway City Council said that records relating to mould and damp complaints “are not held” within their records for private rented accommodation or for HAP and RAS housing.

Labour Councillor Ogbu first raised the issue in November 2025. She cited Awaabs Law in the UK as a signal that change is needed here in Ireland too.  

Awaab Ishak was just two-years-old when he died in 2020 after being exposed to mould in the social housing he shared with his parents.  

Local impact, residents and students

Cllr Ogbu said she met some affected tenants in Galway who were also living with ongoing health issues.

“Some are elderly. Those who have children, and their children, are continuing to have or maybe just kind of showing signs of,…related ailments. And then it’s time for the council to act.”

Cllr Ogbu said students in particular are affected. “Sometimes you find out most of these houses are actually rented out to students. They are rented out to students because they just feel….students don’t have a voice.”

She believes part of the problem is that students don’t know always who to complain to. “Most of the time they are actually sublets to students. So who do they complain to?”

Galway Pulse spoke to one such University of Galway student about the issues she was facing in her accommodation this year. For her own privacy, she wished to remain anonymous, for fear that her landlord might revoke her tenancy.  

“The village [I live in] is university approved. Its a private one.” 

“There was mould in my pillow. I was changing the sheet and saw dots,” the student said. “We have dehumidifier boxes… and then I have my fan on in my bathroom all day. Which is unfortunate because it uses a lot of electricity.” 

“Rent is €840 a month and electricity depends. This month it was €50, we had it on quite a lot because the house was cold and quite damp.”  

2024 survey in Galway

In 2024, Mairead Farrell, Sinn Féin TD for Galway West conducted a survey of Council and private tenants to illustrate renters’ experiences when faced with housing maintenance issues. The survey showed that many renters, both social and private, have problems in their homes which are going unaddressed for very long periods of time. Many of those surveyed faced issues with mould and damp in their homes. Two years on, Ms Farrell says the situation has not changed. 

In a statement to Galway Pulse, TD Mairead Farrell said: “Our office is still regularly contacted by constituents living in substandard accommodation, experiencing damp and mould; both in the private sector and in social housing. Unfortunately, it is not an issue unique to Galway; tenants from everywhere in the state are facing similar issues. 

“Both Galway City and County Council are underfunded and overstretched; what they need from the government is substantial funding to properly deal with this crisis; increased funding would allow them to hire more staff to go out and actually solve the root causes of the problems within peoples homes.” 

Council response

The Galway City Council responded to a request for comment with the following statement:

“Galway City Council takes reports of mould in its properties seriously, addressing each case on an individual basis. Our dedicated Housing Maintenance team investigates these reports to determine the specific root cause through a thorough visual inspection.”

Time for action

Cllr Ogbu said, that although the Galway city and county council are both overstretched, the time to act is now.  

“We should have an audit of affected properties. And then figure out how to deal with these properties, how to deal with the issues,” said Cllr Ogbu.  

“People are afraid to complain, because they don’t want to be homeless.”