Clare Daly (Dublin North, Socialist Party) | Oireachtas source

If we are now at the point of a resolution on this issue, there is only one reason for it, namely the tragic death of Fiachra Daly and the determination and courage of his partner, Stephanie Meehan, in bringing this issue back into the public domain. The reality, both in this Chamber and on the streets, is that Priory Hall residents have been making their call to have these issues resolved for a long time. A year ago in this Chamber, Deputy Wallace, other Deputies and I raised this issue. At the time, we called for all the developments we are now calling for again. The development should be demolished. The banks, which are our banks, should be made to pay a price for this and allow people to transfer their mortgages and move on with their lives.

We made the point that the rogue or criminal developer Tom McFeely, who was ultimately responsible for this matter, was able to build correctly in Britain. The reason he built well in Britain was because standards were enforced. If he had not built well, he would have been caught. Here we had the scandal of architects signing off on Priory Hall as fire safe and compliant with the regulations. When extra rooms were built that constituted a fire hazard, the architect in question never bothered examining the development at all. The system failed the residents here. The banks failed them also. All the resolutions we are now being told we are on the verge of achieving were called for by Members of this House and others 100 days after the residents moved out, a year after they moved out, a year ago and so on. What assurance can the Minister give us that the nightmare is finally at an end and that the families can move on and rebuild their lives?

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