Dáil debates

Tuesday, 20 September 2011

5:00 pm

Photo of Tommy BroughanTommy Broughan (Dublin North East, Labour)
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I wish to share time with Deputy Seán Kenny.

Photo of Michael KittMichael Kitt (Galway East, Fianna Fail)
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That is agreed.

Photo of Tommy BroughanTommy Broughan (Dublin North East, Labour)
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I attended a packed meeting of very anxious and upset Priory Hall residents in the Hilton Airport Hotel on the Malahide Road on Thursday night last. Priory Hall is a relatively new residential apartment complex of 187 units - it was built by the Coalport Building Company Limited - in the huge new North Fringe district in the constituency of Dublin North East and included among its residents are owner-occupiers, private tenants, Dublin City Council and RAS tenants and citizens who bought their homes through affordable housing schemes. Within months of the first residents moving in, serious complaints were made about defects and safety issues at Priory Hall. The Dublin city fire safety chief described the north and south blocks of the complex as "potentially dangerous" and stated that remedial works were urgently required to address the appalling safety deficit that exists.

In December 2009, Dublin City Council moved its tenants and clients out of Priory Hall on safety grounds and commissioned a report by Hayes Higgins Partnership on the alleged serious fire safety defects in the residential units in the complex, which Dublin City Council owns. On 27 July last, the city council's housing and planning departments made a presentation on the Hayes Higgins report to me, Deputy Seán Kenny, Councillor Brian McDowell and other local representatives. To say that we left the meeting profoundly shocked and stunned would be an understatement. We all undertook to have residents immediately informed of the appalling litany of structural, electrical and gas safety defects in the Dublin City Council units of the complex and we urged the council to immediately inform private owners and renters of the position and, if necessary, to evacuate the buildings.

At the meeting I attended on Thursday last, senior housing officials from Dublin City Council, including housing and assistant city manager, Mr. Dick Brady, outlined key findings of the report. Residents asked that the report be published immediately. A number of residents who were present at the meeting inquired directly of the council's officials whether it was safe for them and their families to spend one more night in the complex. I wish to direct the same question to the Minister of State on their behalf. The residents also want to be informed about the action being taken in respect of the architects that worked on the project, the entire self-certification process and the people who allegedly signed off on safety standards in the complex. This is an urgent and profoundly serious matter and I hope the Minister of State will be able to provide us with some support in respect of it.

Photo of Seán KennySeán Kenny (Dublin North East, Labour)
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I call for the immediate release of the report commissioned by Dublin City Council from Hayes Higgins Partnership - Consultant Engineers, to all apartment owners in Priory Hall. To date, Dublin City Council has refused to provide this based on legal advice it received. I request that the Minister of State, Deputy Penrose, and Dublin City Council, advise owners and, in particular, owner occupiers who are obliged to honour monthly mortgage commitments whether suitable alternative accommodation will be provided for them if further defects are identified when the final report is received. It must be borne in mind that residents who may be obliged, on foot of the findings in the final report, to vacate their homes in the event of an emergency will require immediate accommodation. Taking a place on the housing list will really not be an option for them.

I call on Dublin City Council to take a civil action against the Coalport Building Company Limited., and-or the architect who certified the development in accordance with the building regulations. This action should be taken solely with a view to protecting the council's interests. From a cost point of view, it would make better sense if homeowners who, due to their current circumstances, are not in a position to obtain legal advice could join the city council in taking the action to which I refer. Who, if anyone, will undertake the repairs necessary to the buildings in the complex - if they are deemed to be repairable - in a scenario where the Coalport Building Company Limited has not and, it appears, will not attend to those repairs?

The residents of Priory Hall are at crisis point and the dilemma in which they find themselves is whether to default on their mortgages - thereby rendering themselves unable to obtain credit in respect of crucial items, such as another family home, for the remainder of their lives - or to continue to live in buildings which are unsafe as a result of non-compliance with fire safety regulations, faulty gas and electric installations and defective construction. Many of the owner-occupiers are struggling financially and are unable to obtain comprehensive legal advice. While some residents have received preliminary legal advice, most of them cannot afford to instruct a solicitor. Some solicitors who have been approached are unwilling to take a case against the Coalport Building Company Limited, and-or Thomas McFeely because in previous litigations Mr. McFeely has not paid compensation to plaintiffs and has a number of judgments against him personally, most notably one relating to the ACC Bank for the sum of €6.2million.

Photo of Fergus O'DowdFergus O'Dowd (Louth, Fine Gael)
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I am taking this matter on behalf of the Minister of State with responsibility for housing and planning, Deputy Penrose, who is currently in the Seanad. I thank Deputies Broughan and Seán Kenny for their contributions. I will bring to the attention of the Minister of State their deep concerns and those of their constituents.

As the Deputies will be aware, Dublin City Council has initiated legal proceedings regarding compliance with planning permission and fire safety regulations in respect of the development at Priory Hall. The enforcement proceedings are still before the courts. The building regulations set out the legal requirements for the design and construction of new buildings, including houses, extensions and material alterations and certain changes of use of existing buildings. The related technical guidance documents provide guidance on how to comply with the regulations. Compliance with the regulations is the responsibility of the owner or builder of a building. Enforcement of the regulations is the responsibility of the 37 local building control authorities. In the case of Priory Hall, responsibility rests with Dublin City Council which is empowered to carry out inspections and to initiate enforcement proceedings where it is considered necessary. It is understood that Dublin City Council is continuing to actively investigate possible non-compliance with the requirements of the Building Control Acts in respect of this development. Where building defects occur, their remediation is a matter for the parties concerned - namely, the building owner, the relevant developer and the builder's insurers - in line with any contractual arrangements agreed between the parties.

Dublin City Council, as a property owner in Priory Hall, commissioned a building survey in conjunction with a number of other property owners in the complex who agreed to participate in the survey on a fee-paying basis. The report has been recently submitted to the council and copies have been forwarded to those owners who participated in the survey. The question of further publication or dissemination of the report does not, therefore, arise. Any further action in respect of the issues which have arisen in regard to this development would be a matter for Dublin City Council to deal with, as appropriate, in line with the standard arrangements in place for the discharge of its statutory functions. The Minister of State has no specific function with regard to the investigation or prosecution of offences under the Building Control Acts.

Photo of Tommy BroughanTommy Broughan (Dublin North East, Labour)
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The residents and the 200 families in question feel deeply let down by the regulatory, planning, building control and fire safety systems, which allowed people to self-certify buildings that were grossly badly constructed and may be dangerous, frankly. We need to reassure them. I will come back to the original question I posed. Is the Department of the Environment, Community and Local Government concerned that people in these buildings could be in danger tonight and from now on? Can necessary actions be taken as a matter of urgency? Can buildings that are unfit for purpose be condemned? I commend the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government on the establishment of a working group on buildings infected by pyrites. It was a good move. It was the start of something for which I have been calling since the crisis started five or six years ago. Could something similar be done in the case of Priory Hall? I suggest that the Department could assist Dublin City Council to lead a set of actions that would make the building safe, reassure these citizens and rehouse them if necessary.

Photo of Seán KennySeán Kenny (Dublin North East, Labour)
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The Priory Hall case demonstrates that certain aspects of the building control regulations, particularly the self-certification process, are clearly not working. This became clear during the building boom when light touch regulation was favoured. We are now seeing the effects of the failure to comply with basic safety regulations. I refer, for example, to the requirement that an isolation handle, which allows one to switch off the gas in the event of a fire, be provided when a gas connection is being installed. Similarly, many electrical installations were not earthed in the manner that is required. That could have serious consequences in the event of a fire. All of the building control regulations should be put on a statutory basis, as provided for in the legislation that established them. It is clear that self-certification, which was initially provided after difficulties arose, does not work. We have seen that in other fields. We should consider putting the regulations on a proper statutory basis.

Photo of Fergus O'DowdFergus O'Dowd (Louth, Fine Gael)
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I assure Deputies Broughan and Kenny that I take what they have said very seriously. I will bring their remarks to the attention of the Minister of State, Deputy Penrose. He will be deeply concerned about the manner in which things have been done in this estate. As I indicated earlier, the remediation of defects of this kind is a matter to be dealt with by the parties concerned - the owner of the building in question, the relevant developer and the builder's insurer - in line with any contractual arrangements. It is appropriate that Dublin City Council be allowed to deal with the prosecution of alleged non-compliance with planning permission, fire safety regulations and building regulations in line with the standard arrangements for the discharge of its statutory functions. Since he took up office, the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government has clearly signalled that consumer protection in the area of quality construction of new dwellings is a priority matter. He has taken a number of steps to strengthen the situation. Mandatory certificates of compliance for builders and designers of buildings, demonstrating that the statutory requirements of the building regulations have been met, have been introduced. Provision has been made for more efficient pooling of building control staff and resources across the local authority sector to ensure more effective and meaningful oversight of building activity. Standardised approaches and common protocols have been put in place to ensure nationwide consistency in the administration of building control functions. There also have been measures relating to the support and further development of building control functions nationwide. The Minister is determined to strengthen the building control system to ensure problems like those that have arisen at Priory Hall do not visit home owners again.