Joe Costello (Dublin Central, Labour)

The last part of my Adjournment matter submission reads "those who perpetrated the vandalism on the Methodist church on Jones's Road, Dublin 3, are prosecuted and made to restore the church to its pristine condition".

It is unbelievable to think that in this day and age a developer could on the night 14 October use a bulldozer to begin to demolish the beautiful old Methodist church on Jones's Road in the heart of Dublin city. The local authority enforcement section served an order on the developer to desist from further demolition. Instead of desisting, he returned the following morning at 6 o'clock and proceed to continue with the demolition. The local residents were incensed and called the Garda. When the Garda arrived, the driver of the bulldozer ran away and the gardaí on the scene were unable to catch him.

It is a case of absolute vandalism and must be treated in that fashion. The local residents are up in arms that this happened. They certainly want to see this matter dealt with in a comprehensive manner. They want to ensure the church is restored to its original condition, for which there is a precedent. They also want to ensure the local authority proceeds with a civil action in this case. I understand the local authority will ensure the owner of the church is levied the cost of protecting and securing the building from any further attempt at demolition.

A prosecution of a criminal nature should take place. However, there is a problem in this regard. The maximum fine that can be imposed in these cases is only €1,904, a derisory fine. It can, however, include a prison sentence. This must be considered as well. In 2006 a similar event occurred when the Presentation Convent on Terenure Road was demolished by a developer. The local authority ordered that it be reinstated. When it was not, the matter went to court and the individual in question was fined a minuscule €1,000. The developer purchased that site for €15 million, so it was quite clear, it was worth his while to flout the law. We must ensure this is not replicated in the Jones's Road case. We must ensure this particular developer does not get away with the same act of vandalism and the same intent to make a killing on the property.

In Dublin and other parts of the country, there are many places of worship such as synagogues and churches of various denominations, which are surplus to use for their particular congregations. It is time to put a system in place to oblige local authorities to ensure every one of these places of worship is listed for protection. There should also be an audit of such churches to be recorded as protected structures. The Department of the Environment, Heritage and Local Government should examine establishing trusteeships with funding to maintain these surplus buildings and ensure their appropriate use in keeping with the dignity of what they once were. This would be better than the current system where any developer can purchase the site and demolish the building, if it is not listed.

I am seeking that this particular case is prosecuted to a satisfactory outcome with proper sanctions being imposed and mechanisms put in place to prevent this happening again.

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