There has been an increase in the number of rats on the loose in Dublin since the coronavirus pandemic began, it has been claimed.
Dublin City Council has said that the reduction of pest control services has seen rodents return to the streets and even homes in certain residential areas.
The recent warm weather as well as the rise in illegal dumping have been put forward as possible reasons for the infestations.
Sinn Féin's Críona Ní Dhalaigh said that some rats in the Oliver Bond Street flats were so big “you would only be short of putting a saddle on them", the Irish Times reports.
While councillor Daniel Céitinn has led calls for the issue to be dealt with as soon as possible.
He told FM104: "Dublin City Council doesn't just not have the resources, but it doesn't deal with this.
"It tends to be dealt with more by the HSE when it gets to a very bad level.
"And then Dublin City Council's own resources have been scaled back the last few weeks, so nobody is dealing with the problem.
"It has to be dealt with far more intensively now as we open back up because this problem has gotten so much worse."
