GARDAI INVESTIGATE PRIORY HALL DEVELOPER FOLLOWING COMPLAINTS FROM DEPUTY SEÁN KENNY

Posted on June 29, 2011 12:12 PM   |   Permanent Link   

Dublin North East TD Seán Kenny said today that he was receiving many complaints from residents of Priory Hall regarding the shocking and dangerous condition that the development is in.

"I would have thought that Tom McFeely, a director of Coalport Ltd, the company behind Priory Hall, would have learned his lesson when he received a six-month suspended prison sentence and a fine earlier this year.", Deputy Kenny remarked.

In April, Dublin District Court heard evidence of fire safety breaches at the Priory Hall, including a lack of automated opening vents in common areas, a lack of ventilation in the basement car parks and exposed gas pipes. Dublin City Council said that evidence from the fire officer showed that defects had not been remedied despite six separate undertakings by Mr. McFeely since December 2009. When he was convicting Mr. McFeely, Judge McDonnell said the evidence showed that Priory Hall was not built in accordance with planning permission, which he said indicated an attitude that was leading to the problems that Priory Hall is riddled with.

"I have now heard that Mr. McFeely is now finally completing some fire and safety work haphazardly throughout the development, one action was to install automatic opening vents into the windows in the common areas which, as seems to be the case with all work done by Mr. McFeely on Priory Hall, they have caused more damage, to the point that where windows are being damaged even as they are being fixed, with panes being broken and boarded up - thereby surely causing yet another breach in fire safety regulations", Deputy Kenny said.

"Another serious question that should be asked of Dublin City Council is why there no bond was provided for the completion of public areas in the granting of planning permission. At least if Dublin City Council had insisted on a bond then the money from the bond might be able to have been used to finish the development.", Deputy Kenny continued

I have outlined the ongoing issues of the conditions and situation at Priory Hall to the Garda Superindendent in Coolock asking him to investigate any possible further breaches of the developers suspended sentences and he has acknowledged my letter to him, telling me the matter will be investigated.

"This is an absolute nightmare for residents and has been going on for years. It is time that Tom McFeely stopped behaving irresponsibly and comprehensively dealt with the issues at Priory Hall.