Case Study: Sinéad

Sinead is currently living in private rented accommodation with her three year old son Kevin. Before that she was homeless. Sinead and her son are in the process of returning to their hometown hoping for a better life.

“We spent a lot of the time walking the streets. Kevin was in his buggy most of the time, everything was in his buggy, eating, sleeping, playing. The place we were put into was very rough. The door would get kicked and frighten the wits out of the child, he’d cling to you. We were in one room, when he got older I couldn’t let him play I used to get so stressed because people would complain of the noise. I used to give out to him for playing with his toys in case we got asked to move. I never let him out of my sight the landings were where most kids played, but they there were syringes and everything on them. He had to have a shower there was no bath … he was terrified of the shower. Every time we had to move, we had to leave some of his toys behind. He thinks each room is a house; he doesn’t understand that a house has more than one room.

I heard about the Focus Ireland crèche, no matter where we are living and how far away we are I take him there every day… it’s the only bit of normality he has. We’re in private rented now, I can’t really afford the rent they give you €950 but the landlord want €200 more on top, I use the child allowance to pay the rest of the rent. We’re moving back to my hometown, I’ll be staying with my sister. I’m really looking forward to teaching him things like swimming and riding his bike.”

There are steps that the Government can take to ensure that families have enough money to ensure the best future for their children.