Jim O'Callaghan (Dublin Bay South, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Minister of State. I do not know if he is aware of Pearse House. It is a remarkable flat complex in the inner city, between Pearse Street and Hanover Street. There are 345 flats there. It was designed by Herbert Simms. It is a fantastic location but it is in dire need of refurbishment and retrofitting. Great people live in Pearse House but for the past 20 years they have had to put up with substandard accommodation. One significant problem in the flat complex is the significant dampness. That needs to be tackled through a major refurbishment project. I am aware that Dublin City Council announced in October that it was planning a major refurbishment and retrofitting project for Pearse House. It is important that the Department gets behind it. I was concerned by what was stated by Dublin City Council at the time. It indicated that it would take between 12 and 15 years to carry out the refurbishment work. That is far too long. The problems there need to be resolved immediately, especially the dampness. It is unfair to ask people to live in those conditions when we have given a commitment that we can fix it.

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