Residents in dark over return after court move

REACTION:THE RESIDENTS of Priory Hall apartment complex were yesterday left in the dark about when they would be able to return to their homes following the removal by the High Court of developer Thomas McFeely from the site.

Mr McFeely had previously been ordered to complete fire safety work on the 187-bed complex by November 28th. However, following an application by Dublin City Council yesterday, which was unhappy with the progress of the work, the president of the High Court, Mr Justice Nicholas Kearns, ordered Mr McFeely off site.

Residents’ spokesman Darren Kelly said people were relieved Mr McFeely was no longer involved in the remediation work.

“We are obviously happy that Mr McFeely will no longer be on site. The residents of Priory Hall never had any faith in his ability to carry out the work . . . We did not want him to have anything to do with Priory Hall because his work was substandard.”

There was “some security” for residents in the knowledge that a reputable company would be engaged to undertake the work, but he said residents were worried about how long the work would take. It was very unlikely that anyone would be back in their home by Christmas, he said.

“It’s looking like home is going to be the properties Dublin City Council have offered to us. It’s better than a hotel room, it will offer some sort of stability but I don’t think we will be home for Christmas.”

Residents were also concerned builders would uncover further problems with the complex which would result in even longer delays, Mr Kelly said.

David Hall of the New Beginning group, which is representing a number of residents in their dealings with their mortgage providers, said the fact that no developer was in place to replace Mr McFeely would add to the difficulties of dealing with the banks.

“It is now entirely uncertain when and by whom this work is going to be done. We will have to enter into new negotiations with the banks because our previous agreements in relation to mortgage payments were based on the work being completed as per the original court order.”

Mr Hall said he would call on the banks to alleviate the pressure on mortgage holders by implementing a stay on payments until the work was done.