Averil Power (Fianna Fail)

I welcome the Minister of State to the House. I am sure he is well aware of the despicable situation in which the residents of Priory Hall have found themselves. Following a case brought by Dublin City Council, families have been forced to move out of their homes before Christmas, with little certainty for the future. Their apartments were not just badly built by Coalport Limited, they are very dangerous.

Dublin City Council has sought at every juncture to avoid responsibility. Its officials have displayed no humanity since the beginning of this debacle. It has also been clear from the outset that it is acting under the advice of the Department of the Environment, Community and Local Government, yet to date the Minister will not even meet with the families concerned to listen to their stories.

While the residents are still facing a very bleak future, they now have to stomach watching the developer, Thomas McFeely, become the latest high profile Irish businessperson to avail of bankruptcy tourism in the UK, deliberately evading proceedings that are already underway in the Irish courts. Mr. McFeely will be free of restrictions in 12 months, having been declared bankrupt by the UK courts. He will be able to go about his life and his future business interests in his nice house on Ailesbury Road, without the slightest thought for the families affected by his shoddy, dishonest and cruel business practices.

As the Minister of State is aware, Seán Quinn also attempted to avail of the UK's more lenient bankruptcy laws, and was declared bankrupt in the North on 11 November. IBRC was successful in having that adjudication of bankruptcy overturned by the High Court in Belfast on 24 November, by establishing that his centre of interest was not in Fermanagh, but in the Republic. This has allowed his case to be heard by the Irish courts, as is proper. The Seán Quinn case has established a precedent that bankruptcy tourist can and should be challenged.

While Mr. McFeely was declared bankrupt in London almost two weeks ago, I understand that NAMA still has not sought to have that overturned, and it is being left to a private individual to do so. A lady who was a victim of Mr. McFeely's shoddy practices in another development went to the distress of bringing him through the Irish courts and won a judgment against him for damages and costs, yet two years later he still has not paid. She has now filed bankruptcy proceedings in the Republic and he has now gone to London - his own lawyers claim in the newspapers that they did no know about this - and has been awarded bankruptcy there.

Does the Minister of State think it acceptable that NAMA is standing by while one of its creditors uses the much more lenient bankruptcy proceedings in the UK system? If he does not, will the Government indicate to NAMA that it should seek to have the judgment in the UK overturned?

I appeal to the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government to meet with the residents and listen to their stories, and I appeal to the Government to change tack. So far, the Government has shown no support to the residents. I appeal to the Minister of State to change that approach and help these people.