Residents of an apartment complex on the northside of Cork city say illegal dumping has led to a rat infestation.
Locals in Mayfield have launched a petition to have the issue addressed.
Nicole Woods told Lunchtime Live what happened last Monday.
"We were bringing out our wheelie bins on Monday night - as we do every other week for collection Tuesday morning - and we were bringing it through the flat hallway.
"When we turned to close the backdoor... eight to ten rats jumped out of the wheelie bin and started climbing all over the walls.
"My aunt feared [for] her life and tried to climb up the backdoor - anything to get away from them - then she just made a run for it.
"We were screaming, screaming - our neigbour looked out her doorway and there was a rat standing there, so she slammed her door.
"We feared our life, we came in, we got what we could and we left".
She said it is the first time they saw rats in the hallways, but neighbours the next block over had a similar problem.
"There's neighbours just down from me who are dealing with this issue the last three years where they're eating through our fences and everything".
"We all have our own little section out the backs, and then there's just one space where [local councillor Ted Tynan] was informing me that used to be a play park.
"If the backs were done and the rubbish was cleared it would be a beautiful area, but 90% of us won't even go outside to put out our rubbish.
"We actually fear [for] our lives."
'Rats running around'
"I can't remember the last time before the Echo came up and took our picture that I've been out them backs."
"You're either walking on a dead rat, you can see the rats running around playing with each other and everything - it's absolutely revolting".
She said a "good, good, good few of these flats" have young children.
Local councillor Ted Tynan said he was contacted by several residents since last May.
"I could see plenty of photographs.... plenty of rats tend to be seen at night time and indeed during the day time.
"And I contacted the city council at the time and I contacted the HSE.
"There's been sightings of rats on a regular basis during daylight - I was told by the HSE, the Cork office that deals with pest controls, that for rats to be seen regularly during daylight that it's an infestation".
"I then contacted the Evening Echo at the time and they covered it.
"I raised it with the city council and they told me that they would do a major clean up in the courtyard."
But he said there has been no major clean up, following "a bit of a clean up sometime in early October."
He said it needs "a major clean up".
"In fact there's a petition going around the Glenamoy Lawn apartment at the moment, calling on Cork City Council to recognise the serious rodent infestation in the area, and the obvious dangers then posed to the health and wellbeing of residents - and particularly children".
