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03 Dec
A widowed grandad is living in a rat-infested caravan with no electricity, water, or heating in the run up to Christmas. Simon Quilligan, 53, is desperate to get his family to a new home in Cork as they've been battling the cold and are struggling to survive in the horrific conditions. The dad-of-16 lives with five of his kids on the site, which is at the back of an industrial estate in Little Island, and they've no toilet facility and use a dilapidated caravan specifically for rubbish. He also found himself in hospital and is on heavy medication after being bitten by a rat. His sons Daniel (20), Ricky (17), and daughter's Joanna (22), Louise (19), and Tara (15). Another son Samuel, who just fathered a beautiful baby boy, spends a lot of time there to help the family as much as he can. In 2014 their beloved mother Peggy died in her sleep, and afterwards Simon struggled with an alcohol addiction and in 2015 he undertook a programme to get better. After coming out the other side he and his children spent 18 months living in city hotels, something he described as a "constant worry" as he tried to keep them in schools in East Cork. After moving around a few sites they settled at their current isolated spot and have been there almost two years. Simon just wants to get his family somewhere in East Cork that's safe and close to his daughter's school and the cemetery Carrigtwohill where Peggy is resting. This caravan is now unliveable as the rats have taken over Speaking to CorkBeo he said the council are aware of the situation, but despite all this time nothing has been done to help them as of yet. Simon said: "I don't want us to separate. They've been through so much since losing their mother and now we just need somewhere to go. "We're washing with cold water, we can't clean our clothes properly, we've no toilets, and the rats are getting in. "I can't bring any of my grandkids up here as it's too dangerous, and we feel like because we're hiding away at the back here we get forgotten about. They were using a portaloo but had nowhere to remove the waste to "There's no heater, we're freezing through the night and can hear the rats scratching around. We'd love to plug in a Christmas tree - we haven't even had one for about eight years. "The council have been down, but there's been no updates and we've no idea if we're going to get out of here." One of their biggest hurdles has been their current lack of address, as some of the family have had trouble getting documents without one. Despite their situation Simon was full of praise for their neighbours over a wall in an estate, saying the locals around Little Island have been helping them out and checking in. He also spokes highly of other communities around East Cork and gave a particular mention to Carrigtwohill where people "always gave us support". .