Residents of a Dublin city flat complex say they're being overrun with rats, and are finding the rodents inside and outside their homes.
People living at the Oliver Bond complex in the south inner city say they've complained to the local authority, but that the problem continues.
One man is said to have caught 14 of the rodents in his flat.
Lynette Lyons, one of the hundreds of residents living in the complex, told Newstalk Breakfast that rats are visible "all day, every day".
Ms Lyons explained: "The rat infestation has just gone beyond a joke.
"We're consistently contacting [Dublin City Council] giving them our complaints, and no action is being taken.
"I think it's down to the location of the bins... and there's not enough bins for the people in the flats."
She said rats are being found "everywhere", inside and outside flats.
She observed: "They're running across the children's feet... the children can't even play due to the rats coming out.
"My dad also lives in the complex, and a neighbour knocked on my dad's door last week to tell them were two huge rats on his window ledge. We can't even open up windows."
She stressed that the infestation has become a major issue for residents that now needs to be addressed.
Council response
In a statement, Dublin City Council said it was aware of the issue at the flat complex and that they're 'actively dealing with it'.
They said a survey of the area last year showed that "rats had eaten through brickwork in manholes and somehow managed to get by trap gullies on the roadways".
The Council says factors such as the recent warm weather and the fall in the number of pedestrians have been factors in the recent "large increase in the number of rats coming up from the pipe networks and onto the streets".
Officials also say issues such as illegal dumping and the complex's proximity to the Liffey are factors in the infestation.
They say that the area is being baited on a daily basis, but that pest control firms "can no longer use the stronger pesticides used previously because of changed regulations".
