'Creative thinking' needed for Priory Hall issue

THE SITUATION relating to Priory Hall, the unsafe and abandoned apartment block in north Dublin, should not continue indefinitely, Taoiseach Enda Kenny told the Dáil. “I would like to see these people back in their homes,” the Taoiseach said.

He said he did not want “to see the taxpayer screwed left, right and centre because of the gross incompetence and sheer drive for more money by builders who carried on recklessly in putting up an edifice like this in the first place”.

The builder had been declared bankrupt in England, while the residents had to move out due to safety concerns and the case had ended up in the court, he said. He understood there were more developments of that kind elsewhere.

Mr Kenny said there were Supreme Court proceedings due shortly on the issue and he could not pre-empt what might happen.

He understood that the ESB was concerned about a number of safety issues and that it was not its intention to cut off the supply.

Fianna Fáil leader Micheál Martin said sympathy for the residents and outrage at the developer were no longer good enough.

“The residents’ clear view is that their plight is not the overriding priority of Government or of the institutions of the State, be they local or national,” he added.

It was accepted, said Mr Martin, that the developer had behaved in a despicable manner. The key issue was that someone must take a proactive stance on the matter.

“After the court cases, the fundamental issue will still remain: how one deals with the Priory Hall situation by rehousing the residents,” he added.

Mr Martin said party colleague Senator Averil Power, who had met the residents, had told him there were many empty Nama houses in estates in Belmaine and Clongriffin in north Dublin.

“Surely some creative thinking can go into this whereby people could work with the city council, Nama and others to do the humanitarian thing?”

Mr Kenny said he would like to think “heads can be put together” once the issues decided on by the Supreme Court became clear.