MORE THAN 250 Priory Hall residents, including 87 children, will spend Christmas away from their homes this year after being forced to move due to fire safety defects. Among these are seven families who will spend Christmas at the Regency Hotel in north Dublin after Dublin City Council was unable to find them temporary private accommodation.
The residents were evacuated from their Donaghmede homes by order of the High Court on October 17th after the complex was found to pose a serious fire safety risk. Some of the residents are currently without heating in their temporary accommodation.
Darren Kelly, who is staying in the Northern Cross apartments on the Malahide Road with his wife Melissa and children Sophia and Nevin, said it was hard being out of their home at Christmas and he was uncertain about the future of the property, for which they had paid €247,000. “It’s nearly Christmas and we have no heating,” he said. “I’ve been trying to contact Dublin City Council and the caretaker of the property. We can’t do without the heating.”
Liam Boland and Ashling Maguire, who are also staying in Northern Cross, said they had found the experience nerve-racking. The couple, who are due to marry in April, paid €225,000 for their apartment in Priory Hall.
“Getting married when everything is okay is stressful enough, never mind when you’ve been forced out of your home,” Mr Boland said.
Alison Doyle told The Irish Timesthat she and her husband John were paying for their own private accommodation as the temporary accommodation Dublin City Council offered them was unsuitable for their 14-month-old son, Seán. "We are trying to keep the Christmas period as happy as possible for the sake of our son but every day brings more stress."
The couple were forced out of their three-bedroomed apartment, which cost €288,000, and are now spending Christmas in rented accommodation in Clongriffin.
Ms Doyle said they may have to continue paying their mortgage in January despite not being able to live at home. “Our bank sent us a letter on December 20th to say our three-month moratorium is up in January and we will have to start paying our mortgage again.”
The seven families staying in the Regency Hotel had no tap water or heating due to an outbreak of the winter vomiting bug last week, but hotelier John Glynn said the premises had since been decontaminated.
He said the hotel was putting on a lunch on Christmas Day for more than 300 guests which the Priory Hall residents staying at the hotel were welcome to attend. He said most would probably join their families in their homes, though.
Dublin City Council said the cost of bringing the Priory Hall apartments up to standard could be €7.3 million, or €39,000 for each apartment.