A woman was left hospitalised after the ceiling of her city centre apartment caved in on top of her.
Joyce Staunton, 47, has lived in Dublin’s Greek Street flats her entire life.
She took over ownership of the property at 16 after her parents passed away and lives there with her son.
But on Thursday morning, she was rushed to hospital with head and facial injuries after part of her ceiling around the windows in her bedroom collapsed.
Joyce told the Irish Mirror: “A whole lot of the ceiling came down.
“It caught me on the side of the face and my shoulder and I ended up in A&E for four hours.
“More of it is after falling down on me and my neighbour today when we were cleaning up.
“New curtains, new floors, everything that’s gone in there is brand new and it’s all destroyed from the dust from the wall falling. I wouldn’t even leave the dog in there.”
Water damage is the cause, with Joyce saying a crack has led to moisture seeping into the walls and ceiling of both her flat and her neighbour’s.
Her cousin Angelo lives in the next door flat, but he is now paralysed on one side of his body after suffering a stroke and requires constant care.
He has also ended up in hospital, where he remains now, after a fall on a wet floor in the middle of the night.
Joyce has put €14,000 of her own money into improvements in her flat, including new floors, windows, curtains and paint.
She was initially under the impression the moisture had come in through the windows before the crack was discovered.
Joyce spent €12,000 on new windows which
were installed last week.
Dublin City Council told the Irish Mirror the complaints are being investigated by the Housing Maintenance Section who will contact tenants directly.
It added any structural issues in the apartment and the one next door will be remediated as soon as possible.
