ONE OF the main banks providing mortgages on properties at the Priory Hall apartment complex in Dublin has said it will participate in talks aimed at resolving the residents’ housing and loan problems.
AIB said a newspaper report that it had refused to take part in a conciliation process concerning Priory Hall residents was incorrect.
The Supreme Court had been due to hear an appeal by Dublin City Council last week against orders made by High Court president Mr Justice Nicholas Kearns requiring the council to pay alternative accommodation and storage costs of the 240 residents after their evacuation last October.
However, last Friday the council suspended its appeal and proposed the establishment of a conciliation process under the chairmanship of retired Supreme Court judge Mr Justice Joseph Finnegan.
An article which appeared in the Sunday Business Post said the main banks which provided mortgages to residents of the complex and the Irish Banking Federation were refusing to engage with the process. It said that AIB and Bank of Ireland were understood to have the biggest exposure to Priory Hall. However an AIB spokeswoman yesterday said the bank would participate.
“A report that AIB has refused to take part in a conciliation process concerning Priory Hall residents is incorrect,” she said. “AIB is supporting all customers in Priory Hall who have sought assistance from the bank. AIB is happy to engage fully with the new process.”
Bank of Ireland yesterday refused to comment on whether it would take part in the process. In a statement, the bank said it had been in contact with Priory Hall mortgage holders since the issue arose and “appropriate forbearance measures were agreed with customers”. It added that each customer was assessed on an individual basis.
Residents’ spokesman Graham Usher said the agreement into which the residents entered to take part in the resolution process specifically stated that they, their mortgage providers and the council would participate.
“AIB is one of the biggest providers of mortgages to Priory Hall residents so their involvement is very positive and an important first step,” he said. “However, all mortgage companies need to come to the table.”
The conciliation process, which is due to be completed by July, had not yet begun, Mr Usher added. “It is quite a short timeframe, but there is still an opportunity for all the banks to get involved, so I hope they will follow the lead of AIB.”
Dublin City Council yesterday said it would be inappropriate to comment on the matter while the process was taking place.
Minister for the Environment Phil Hogan has welcomed the establishment of the mediation process which, he said, provided an “appropriate context for the parties concerned to work together”.
“I would encourage the financial institutions, the residents of Priory Hall and Dublin City Council to have an open mind and to engage fully with this new process to give it every chance to succeed.
The High Court had ordered the building to be evacuated last October on the council’s application arising from fire safety concerns. Thomas McFeely, whose Coalport Building Company developed the complex, was not involved in the council’s appeal against the payment orders. His separate appeal against orders fining him €1 million and jailing him for three months has yet to be heard.
