Texas_ranger, you certainly do. It's not easy to find accommodation here for much less than about €60 / night (and that's cheap).
It is a case of you get what you pay for, but we also have wiring and building safety regulations and legislation which are clearly being flouted in the images you've posted up.
I genuinely think some of those places ought to be reported to the HSA and the local fire safety officers.
The wiring's not even remotely acceptable. You'd get away with that in a private home on the basis that it's your home and you can do whatever you like in it (although you'd possibly invalidate your insurance), but it shouldn't be like that in a public building.
I do not want to get into naming the actual hostels in question here, but I would ask you to please consider getting in touch with the Irish HSA (Health and Safety Authority)
http://www.hsa.ie/eng/Workplace_Contact_Unit/email : wcu(at)hsa.ie (Irish Health and Safety Authority)
Preferably provide them with the photos and addresses of the places you stayed.
They have no business operating with systems / buildings in that condition.
Dublin City Fire Department can be contacted at :
Fire Prevention,
Dublin Fire Brigade,
Townsend Street,
Dublin 2,
Ireland,
Tel: +353 1 673 4000
Fax:+ 353 1 673 4084
and "email: fire(at)dublincity.ie"
Cork City Fire Department :
Fire Prevention Office,
Cork City Fire Brigade,
Anglesea Street,
Cork,
Ireland.
Tel. +353 21 4966333
Fax. +353 21 4310745
E-mail fireoff(at)corkcity.ie
I think they would be very interested to hear from you.
Building like that are supposed to have a valid fire safety certificate to operate and I am at a loss as to how they could possibly have one with the state of that wiring!
Also, if you do not mind, I will take this up with the Minister for the Environment, if you would like to get in touch with me & give me access to the addresses of the establishments & the photos, I will pursue this further.
I think there are quite obviously grounds to lobby him to look at targeted inspections on budget hostel accommodation.
Unfortunately, I get the distinct impression that the recent boom in hotel building in Ireland has really pushed the quality of hostels to new lows.
That being said, there are also hostels with good quality accommodation and electrical systems.
It's terrible that some rogue operators are expecting people to actually sleep in accommodation with such shoddy standards though and it's rather embarrassing from an Irish tourism perspective too if this is the kind of nonsense that people are being expected to put up with!
