Chris Andrews (Dublin Bay South, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Minister of State for facilitating this important matter. In 2004, 62 apartments were part of an affordable housing scheme at Poolbeg Quay, at the end of Sean Moore Road in Ringsend. There was huge excitement for those who got apartments and disappointment for those who did not.

In 2004, these affordable homes - two-bed apartments - cost, on average, €146,000. The residents bought them in the belief they would be of a high quality. It was not unreasonable for people to think, when they invested so much money and got mortgages, that checks would have been carried out in order that they would have homes fit to live in for many decades. People expect their homes to be built properly. People do not expect their homes to be hazardous and defective just 17 years after being built. Surely, it cannot be the residents' fault for not detecting these defects. One would imagine the arms of the State and the big business involved would not allow this to happen.

We must ask ourselves how have we reached a situation whereby ordinary families, such as the residents of Poolbeg Quay, Ringsend, have to pick up the tab for what seems to have been a systemic failure. Most people assume that banks or mortgage suppliers will carry out checks. There is an assumption that they will ensure that everything is done correctly so that a building is good for living in. Some 59 of the residents have their mortgages with Dublin City Council. Three have sold their apartments and paid the clawback amount.

Some 17 years after they were built, there is serious damage to these apartments. There is major water ingress into the apartments, which are in serious need of repair. The roofs are in a dangerous condition. Recent quotes the residents got estimate that it will cost €250,000 to fix them. That is €250,000 which the residents do not have. If the residents were unable to pay their mortgages, it would be an issue for Dublin City Council because the mortgages are with the council. The residents are in a 20-year clawback arrangement with the council. This matter has everything to do with Dublin City Council, which cannot be allowed to wash its hands of this matter. Dublin City Council should have carried out building inspections. Given the fact that the council was facilitating loans, it had a responsibility to ensure that the apartments were built to certain standards. Proper inspections should have been carried out. The council should also have inspected the apartments as part of its building controls. The council signed off on these apartments in the context of the loans issued.

The builder is deceased. However, the builder's companies cannot be allowed to walk away. I have been contacted by residents of Poolbeg Quay who are devastated by this turn of events. The big worry is that it will turn into another Priory Hall. We cannot leave people out to dry because others failed them. Will the Minister of State meet with the residents and listen to their stories? When he hears the details, I know he will support them. They need the support of the State, be that through the council or a direct scheme. I urge him not to forget the residents and not to turn his back on them. I ask that he meet with and listen to them.

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