Displaced residents criticise reprieve

RESIDENTS OF the unsafe apartment complex Priory Hall said they were extremely upset last night after developer Thomas McFeely secured a reprieve on a three-month jail sanction handed down by the High Court.

Speaking following the High Court case yesterday residents had said they were satisfied the man who “recklessly endangered” their lives and those of their children had finally been brought to justice.

“The residents of Priory Hall are satisfied that finally someone other than us has been punished for this mess. Tom McFeely recklessly endangered our lives and the lives of our children just to line his own pockets,” residents’ spokesman Graham Usher said yesterday afternoon.

The Supreme Court decision yesterday evening to put a stay on the High Court order jailing him caused great upset and disappointment and worsened the distress already felt by residents who had been in “limbo” since leaving their homes one month ago.

“It is extremely disappointing that this man can throw the lives of 240 people into complete disarray and just walk out the door.”

While Mr McFeely’s jailing would have been a moral victory, it would have provided “no consolation” or long-term solution to the problems he created, Mr Usher said. “Our futures are still uncertain and we still face the prospect of being homeless for Christmas and we’re also still paying mortgages on unsafe homes.”

The residents have been living in accommodation provided by Dublin City Council on the order of the president of the High Court, Mr Justice Nicholas Kearns. The council is appealing the order to the Supreme Court.

“It’s extremely difficult for people with families. You’re living day to day basically, unfortunately at the whims of the courts. We were waiting to see, initially with the High Court and now for the Supreme Court, whether we’re going to have homes.”

Mr Usher called on Minister for the Environment Phil Hogan to intervene to find a solution for the residents. A spokesman for Mr Hogan said it would not be appropriate to meet the residents while the court process was ongoing.

A spokeswoman for Dublin City Council said it would make no comment on the situation until it holds a further meeting with residents.