Taoiseach gives personal commitment to resolve Priory Hall scandal

Taoiseach Enda Kenny has said residents of Priory Hall were put into houses that were “death traps” and has given a personal commitment to resolve the saga within the lifetime of the Government.

Some 256 residents were ordered to evacuate the apartment complex in north Dublin in October 2011, when fire safety problems and construction defects were found. The controversy remains unresolved following legal issues and disputes over renovation.

Mr Kenny said in Cork yesterday that the scandal was “the worst of what occurred in the so-called Celtic Tiger years”.

“Priory Hall, in my view, is the worst of what occurred in the so-called Celtic Tiger years where people, through no fault of their own, were effectively put into houses that were death traps.”

Residents of the complex requested a meeting with Minister for the Environment Phil Hogan on Tuesday after he indicated the Government would consider demolishing and rebuilding the apartment complex.

Mr Hogan said he would intervene once a mediation process between Dublin City Council and former residents under the chairmanship of retired Supreme Court judge Joseph Finnegan concluded next month. The case is due to return to the Supreme Court on October 15th following an adjournment to allow this process to take place.

Mr Kenny indicated yesterday he would seek to take action once the conclusion of these matters came about.

He added that he had sought a report on the matter and required “a little more time” before deciding on the best course of action in relation to the complex.

A key grievance of Priory Hall residents has been that in spite of a moratorium on their mortgages, the interest on them has been accruing since they were moved out of their homes two years ago.

Mr Kenny said it would be “a complete injustice” if residents of Priory Hall were forced to make mortgage repayments.

Priory Hall Residents Committee spokeswoman Ursula Graham issued “a cautious welcome” to Mr Kenny’s commitment.

“He has been aware of the situation since 2009. I wrote to him personally back then, and we now find ourselves here four years later – two years evacuated from our homes – and we still have no solutions.”