Tommy Broughan (Dublin North East, Labour)

I would also like the Minister and the Taoiseach to step up to the plate, as I said on the Order of Business. We need a senior Government figure, particularly the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government, to become directly involved. I also met a delegation from Priory Hall yesterday. I sensed their grave anxiety as they wondered whether they would be homeless for Christmas and what would happen about their mortgages and the payment of rent. We are in a legal no man's land between the High Court and the Supreme Court. People are concerned that the buildings were damaged when Thomas McFeely went in to undertake some remediation works, as one block has been left exposed to the elements.

What can the Minister tell us about the discussions that have taken place with Dublin City Council? The city council keeps telling us that it is in daily contact with the Department. It is incumbent, therefore, on the Minister and the Taoiseach to take a hands-on approach.

Most of the residents do not want to go back to Priory Hall. They want a solution. Owner-occupiers bought apartments in good faith; they were robbed of their life savings and submitted to taking out huge loans. They were left in a dreadful position. Those who privately rent are in a similar position. Effectively, they have been left homeless.

During the hearing in the High Court Mr. Justice Kearns repeatedly drew attention to the severe plight of the 240 residents and stated the behaviour of Dublin City Council "beggars belief" because the council had launched a torpedo but did not have the wherewithal to make alternative plans to remediate the complex, carry out repairs and rehouse residents. Miss Sineád Power, one of the leading members of the Priory Hall committee, continually says that because of the liaison between Dublin City Council and the Department, this is a political issue. Repeatedly in court barristers representing the council and others this situation requires a political solution. I pay tribute to Mr. Justice Nicholas Kearns of the High Court for his diligence, legal clarity and empathy with the people. He is a recommendation for the Judiciary.

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