Irish taxpayers foot €1m bill for firetrap apartments

Taxpayers have paid out €1m to cover the initial cost of ensuring the safety of residents in the Longboat Quay apartment block which was found to be a firetrap last year, the Public Accounts Committee heard yesterday.

The development in the Dublin docklands was built in 2006 by developer Brendan McNamara whose company has since been put into receivership saddling the State with the bill for repairing and upgrading the complex, as revealed by the Irish Examiner last week.

Appearing before the PAC yesterday, representatives of the Dublin Docklands Development Authority (DDDA) — which is in the process of being wound down — told the committee that €1m had been spent to date, including on the provision of fire marshals and upgrading the fire alarm system.