A FERMANAGH couple are facing a troublesome start to the New Year after more damp and mould appeared in the Housing Executive home they share in Magheraveely. 
Damien McCaffrey and Lisa Mullan claim the issue which first emerged over a year ago has become more severe in recent weeks with black dirt covering their bedroom wall.
Mr. McCaffrey, who suffers from Bronchitis, says he has reported the issue to the Northern Ireland Housing Executive several times since he moved into the small bungalow in August 2016. 
Miss Mullan is using up to 10 bottles of bleach a month to clear up the mess and is forced to soak up the water that drips onto the floor almost every morning before she gets ready for work.
“The damp would be along the top of the wall and in the bottom right hand corner. You’d clean it and it would come back; the roof was leaking at one stage as well,” she said.
The 23 year old told The Impartial Reporter yesterday (Wednesday) that the issue has become “very discouraging.” 
“You can’t keep clothes in that bedroom because they will be damp, you are having to look at it every day, having to clean it, having to buy more bleach to scrub the walls. It is annoying.
“You have to get up with a towel to dry off the water that drips onto the floor,” said Miss Mullan. “If you have time in the mornings you dry the walls, bleach it, wash it off. 
“The window is soaked as well, the frames are rotten. We have been told we are on a waiting list for new windows but that window frame is rotten,” she said, pointing to her bedroom window. 
Miss Mullan’s partner Damien, 26, suffers from Bronchitis throughout the year and is concerned about the potential health hazards of sleeping in a damp bedroom.
“He would have a bad chest. People say that mould is not good for you. We wouldn’t want to get sick over something so silly, something that should be sorted,” she said. 
Miss Mullan claims the Housing Executive told them there was too much insulation in their home “and pulled it back.”
“Then they said there wasn’t enough and they put more in, then before Christmas they pulled it all back again and the roof was soaking wet. Now for the fourth time they are telling us we need more insulation,” she said. 
And she has this message for the Housing Executive: “If there is damp on the wall there is a problem there and it needs to be sorted, you can’t keep covering it up.”
“We are paying rent every week (just under £80). There’s no point paying for a house that is not up to standard,” Miss Mullan told this newspaper. 
After The Impartial Reporter contacted the Housing Executive yesterday (Wednesday) it emerged that work is to be carried out by the end of this week in a bid to resolve the problem.
A Housing Executive spokesman said: “We received a complaint regarding a property in the Gortinure Park area of Magheraveely in October last year. A contractor was appointed to carry out remedial work to allow ventilation into the roof space to resolve the issue.
 “The tenant made a follow up enquiry as the work carried out had not resolved the issue. A technical officer conducted a further inspection, with the contractor instructed to complete additional work to the roof space. The work will be completed this week to determine the most effective solution in a bid to resolve the issue.
 “The tenant has been updated on these developments and is satisfied with the work proposed. A follow up home visit will be made by our staff to further assess the situation.”