Tommy Broughan (Dublin North East, Labour) | Oireachtas source

Last Saturday, I walked with more than 1,000 citizens in Donaghmede, Dublin 13, which is in my constituency to mark the first anniversary of the traumatic evacuation of Priory Hall residents from their homes in October 2011 owing to the profound fire safety and other defects discovered in that complex. I again pay tribute to the Priory Hall residents and their families for their ongoing, outstanding and dignified campaign for justice.

On Saturday, we heard powerful testimonies from some of the resident leaders, including Graham Usher, Stephanie Meehan, Sínead Power and Darren Kelly, in regard to the horrific ongoing suffering of the Priory Hall families. For example, Stephanie detailed the awful impact on her two young children of being evacuated from their home, spending Christmas 2011 as refugees in their own country. Incredibly, Priory Hall families are now facing a second Christmas out of their homes, with the future as uncertain as ever.

No remediation work has been carried out since last November, even though at the time of the evacuation residents were told that they would be back in their homes in about five weeks. I also spoke last Saturday to some of the parents and grandparents of Priory Hall residents who never imagined their children and grandchildren being treated so badly. As pointed out yesterday by Graham Usher in a letter to The Irish Times, residents have faced a 12 month battle with the developer Tom McFeely, Dublin City Council, the Government and the banks. Graham rightly calls Priory Hall "a failure of the State". I note that Mr. McFeely was in court again today in relation to breaches of court orders and the non-disclosure of assets.

The key question is when will the resolution process be concluded? That was the question on everyone's lips at the public demonstration last Saturday. The threat of Dublin City Council's Supreme Court case on the withdrawal of families' accommodation still looms. Residents also point out that if they currently have a moratorium on their mortgage, the capital interest on it is accelerating all the time. This could be horrifically compounded if residents are left in negative equity, with a huge mortgage on an unsafe and unsaleable home. It was also reported in The Irish Times last Saturday that Dublin City Council has spent €2 million on the Priory Hall debacle, including a reported €700,000 on security. One year on, residents are in a worse position than ever. When will we know the result of the resolution process and when will it be possible for the families with Priory Hall to move on with their lives?

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