Averil Power (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Minister of State for being present in the House to give this reply. I must take issue with the point made in the reply that the Department of the Environment, Community and Local Government is not a party to the proceedings. Yes, the Department is not directly a party to the proceedings but Dublin City Council is, and the Department is responsible to this House for the actions of the local authorities around the country, including Dublin City Council.

As I said, Dublin City Council has spent more than ¤2 million of taxpayers' money to date on short-term accommodation and on the security of the Priory Hall building. If the council had risen to its responsibilities and accepted from the start that it had played a part in bringing this disaster about in the first place and engaged with the residents, this could have been avoided. Instead it fought them through the courts and did everything possible to avoid being part of the solution to the problem. The residents unanimously agreed to be part of the resolution process and see it as a very positive thing. I agree that Mr. Justice Finnegan must be allowed to do his work but I take issue with the statement that the Department does not have a responsibility. The Department has a responsibility to put pressure on Dublin City Council as a direct party to the resolution process to ensure it does everything it can to bring about a positive resolution. Of course the banks are involved. Of course this whole debacle is a result of the disgusting and unscrupulous practices of a particular developer as well. However, I would like to see a more hands-on approach from the Government, because the Department is responsible for the Dublin City Council. We passed legislation in this House at 6 a.m. this morning for the liquidation of IBRC and I understand that, as a consequence, Priory Hall will be under NAMA. The Government has a relationship with NAMA and more pressure needs to be brought to bear on the State agencies involved to bring about a final solution as soon as possible to end this nightmare for the residents.