Joan Burton (Dublin West, Labour) | Oireachtas source

I express my sympathy to the people living in the development at Longboat Quay. I can imagine how worrying it is for people who have bought apartments there and who took out mortgages over a long period. Dublin Fire Brigade, in seeking to ensure there are proper fire regulations in respect of those apartments and every other set of apartments, is performing a very important public service on behalf of the citizens of Dublin, and particularly on behalf of the residents living in and paying mortgages on the apartments in question.

As this development was initially within the remit of the Dublin Docklands Development Authority, and as that authority is in the process of moving over to the local authority, which is Dublin City Council, there is plenty of scope to ensure the relevant work is done. I would like to see it done as quickly as possible. I know people living in the complex, as I am sure does the Deputy. Some people became residents through shared-ownership schemes while some bought on the open market. Therefore, we are talking about a huge investment by people in their own lives and the lives of their families in order to obtain good quality accommodation. I am familiar with the outside of the apartments. They are in a very nice location near the River Liffey. They appear to have serious issues concerning fire safety. There is enormous scope for Dublin City Council and the Dublin Docklands Development Authority, which is moving under the remit of Dublin City Council, to address the really important issue of fire safety with the fire brigade as quickly as possible.

There was a similar set of circumstances with Priory Hall, as mentioned by Deputy Aengus Ó Snodaigh. The developer's political movement affiliations were well known. That case was resolved through a process of mediation which was incredibly difficult for the residents and took far too long. I hope we have all learned from what happened there and that we can now have a resolution of a more attractive nature.

The fire brigade worked very closely with the Dublin City Council authorities to address what I understand must be enormous fears among families with children and individuals over the fundamentals of fire safety in the apartments in question. I have spoken to a number of residents and various politicians who represent those in the area and believe that with goodwill from Dublin City Council, which is taking over Dublin Docklands Development Authority, this issue can be resolved and the safety of the residents ensured. We can actually deal with the matter in the here and now.

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