Neighbour living beside children’s residential home left ‘terrified’

A Meath woman says her life has become a nightmare since a children's residential home was set up next door to her semi-detached home .

"My life has been threatened, my car was destroyed when food was thrown all over it, and when all the windows in the house next door were broken some of the glass ended up in my garden. I'm still picking it up," she said.

The woman does not want to be named or the exact location revealed for fear of reprisals or of identifying the young people involved.

"It is terrifying. There is so much noise and violence next door. The house is attached to mine. I can hear everything, there are times I fear for the safety of the staff. It is so stressful, that I ended up being taken by ambulance to hospital for stress. As I was leaving, a boy was shouting abuse at the ambulance crew and recording them."

She explains that there have only ever been one or two children in the home at any given time. "The staff are lovely but they get horrendous abuse.

"The noise and chaos comes and goes. It can be very quiet for a while, but you are always on tenderhooks waiting for something to kick off.

"I've heard a television being ripped from the wall and everything being smashed. One day a young lad threatened to kill me.

"Another day a young person threw food all over my car. I don't know how many times the gardai have been called.

"I bought my home eight years and was very very happy there until this residential home was set up there.

"It is an ongoing problem and I think I may have to move out. I always liked living here but I cannot continue living beside something like that."

Cllr Helen Meyer said it was a terrible situation. "Her life was threatened and there is so much noise, she has feared for the safety of the staff at times.

"She told me she is considering selling up, but she loved living there. Now she feels trapped. It has turned her life upside down."

Cllr Meyer said she would like to know what the rules were regarding setting up a home like this in a residential area.

When asked if such a facility needed planning permission, Meath County Council referred the Meath Chronicle to Class 14 of the Planning and Development Regulations 2001-2025 which provides an exemption for the change of use from a house to a residence for individuals with specific needs and as a residence for people who provide care for individuals with these conditions.

A spokesperson for Tusla - Child and Family Agency, said the agency does not comment on individual cases or situations. "However, where concerns are raised by members of the community regarding a property owned or used by Tusla, or those residing in that property, the Agency will take appropriate steps to address these concerns."