A personal injuries claim, in which Dublin Corporation tradesmen were painted in an extremely derogatory light, has been dismissed in the Circuit Civil Court.
Painting contractor Mr James Cunningham told Judge Liam Devally that a Dublin Corporation painter would take four hours to do what a private painter would do in 10 minutes.
Mr Cunningham was giving evidence in a personal injuries action against the corporation by Mr Karl Fitzgerald, Flat 28, Lourdes House, Dublin, who claimed he had suffered a needle-stick injury while tidying rubbish in the unfinished flat. Mr Cunningham said his men had left the flat in an acceptable condition. Mr O'Higgins, counsel for Mr Fitzgerald, said Lourdes House had been blighted by heroin and other drug users who squatted in 21 of the 28 flats in the complex.
Judge Devally said Mr Fitzgerald he had failed to prove negligence by the corporation.