Cork City Council flats ‘are overrun with rats’, residents claim
In 2025, Ireland is grappling with a significant increase in rat infestations within public housing, impacting residents' quality of life and prompting calls for action. In February, Rentokil reported a sharp rise in rat and mice infestations in the Cork region. Statistics reveal a 94% increase in recorded rat activity and a 44% increase in recorded mice activity in January 2025 compared to last year.
Several other regions have experienced notable surges in activity, with Dublin recording a 29% increase in rat infestations. The Northwest region has seen a sharp 60% rise in mice activity, while Limerick recorded a 31% increase in mice infestations.
Social housing tenants are reporting rats in their homes, leading to displacement, stress, and difficulties in getting problems resolved. The issue is widespread, with reports from various locations across Ireland including Cork, Wexford, and Dublin.
The Workers Party is calling for better and faster responses from landlords and local authorities to address rat infestations and demands that government enacts solutions to prevent future infestations, including addressing the issue of derelict properties. Thousands of people in this state are living in rat infested housing with black mold on their walls. At the same time, the government has a surplus of almost €12 Billion and, in contrast to its inaction on poor housing, it plans to add billions to the defence budget.
Report below by Donal O'Keefe EchoLive.ie 9th July 2025
Residents of Ard Bhaile and Glenamoy Lawn in Mayfield told The Echo that the estates are currently “overrun” with rats, which are gnawing through walls and doors.
The situation is being exacerbated, residents say, by a small minority of tenants dumping rubbish in the area.
“Thousands” of rats “the size of small dogs” are using an abandoned network of pipes and tunnels to get into northside social housing flats, locals claim.
The situation is being exacerbated, they say, by a small minority of tenants dumping rubbish in the area.
Residents of Ard Bhaile and Glenamoy Lawn in Mayfield told The Echo that the estates are currently “overrun” with rats, which are gnawing through walls and doors.
There are 157 homes in Ard Bhaile, and 109 in Glenamoy Lawn. Almost a decade ago, Cork City Council replaced the heating system in the estates, which had previously used an air-to-water system.
The new air-to-air system, introduced between 2016 and 2017, is extremely unpopular with tenants, who have variously described it as extremely expensive to use and “completely useless”.Tenants claim rats are using the estates’ former boiler room’s tunnels and pipes to move between the flats.
The issue is being made worse, locals say, by a minority of tenants who are dumping rubbish in the central green area of the Glenamoy Lawn flats, of approximately two acres.
That square is overgrown and littered, with locals saying it is “crawling” with large rats.
Ted Tynan, Workers’ Party councillor for the north-east ward, said the council needs to clear the central area and concrete it, and address the infestation in the boiler house.
“There is a huge threat to public health and safety. There is a severe infestation of rats the size of small dogs, huge things, numbering in the thousands,” Mr Tynan said.
“There’s one woman here, who, after three months, the council came up and repaired the base of her hot press.
“The rats had eaten through the floor and gotten into the flat.
“The council sealed the damage and got rid of the problem, but the rats are still outside the door, in the overgrown green area, and they’re down in the tunnels underneath the flats.”
One local man, Seán, a resident for the past 30 years, said the council had previously cleared out “18 artics full of rubbish” the last time it had cleaned the central area.
“If they clean it this time, they need to concrete over the area,” he said.
Another local complained that a small minority was causing problems for everyone in the area. She said: “I’m paying €325 a year for my rubbish to be collected and I can’t hang out my laundry for fear I’ll get bitten by a rat.”
Cork City Council was asked for comment.
