Kenny urged to meet Priory Hall victims

Angry victims of the Priory Hall scandal have called for Taoiseach Enda Kenny put aside legal matters, by-pass Environment Minister Phil Hogan, and meet a small group of residents face to face.

Resident and Priory Hall spokesman Graham Usher rejected comments by Mr Hogan yesterday that he could not meet residents before the result of a Supreme Court hearing on Oct 15.

Speaking in Dublin, Mr Hogan said he was staying quiet on Priory Hall because he does not want developers responsible for the apartments to “get off the hook”. Mr Hogan said he has been advised not to meet the residents by the Attorney General until the issue is before the courts again next month.

“I want to assure everybody, particularly residents of Priory Hall, that I will resolve these matters once the court process is completed,” said Mr Hogan.

A mediation process is under way, with retired Supreme Court Judge Joseph Finnegan due to report back on Oct 15.

However, Mr Usher believes Judge Finnegan’s report does not exist.

“Minister Hogan is waiting on something that is never going to happen,” he said. “Our understanding is that Judge Finnegan has no report to give to the court.

“This Supreme Court case is about Dublin City Council appealing the decision of it having to foot the bill while residents are out of their homes. It has nothing to do with mortgages, and that is what we want to talk to the Government about.”

There had been reports that the mediation process had stalled, but Mr Hogan said he is unaware of this.

“Judge Finnegan must report to the court,” he said. “I have not seen anything from Judge Finnegan, he has to report to the court and I understand the day they should have that report is the 15th of October.”

Mr Usher said AIB bank had “no problem” working outside the legal process and had told last week’s Oireachtas Finance Committee that it had decided to push ahead with its own solution for customers, as it shared their concerns over the lack of progress.

The committee heard AIB had contacted 18 family home-owners in the death-trap complex in the belief they were most likely never return to their homes. One option the bank was examining was to allow their customers to use their mortgages to buy new homes elsewhere.

Mr Usher said such thinking could see the situation resolved by Christmas, but he was fearful all the other banks were going in different directions, and the Taoiseach’s intervention was immediately required to resolve the mortgage issue at Priory Hall. “We just want the Taoiseach to meet a small group of residents, put aside legal matters and just discuss the situation with mortgages,” he said.

On Sunday, KBC bank said it would not be pursuing €17,000 from resident Stephanie Meehan, whose partner Fiachra Kelly took his own life in July.

His life assurance had covered the mortgage, but KBC claimed the €17,000 was outstanding debt. Last month, Ms Meehan, a mother of two, penned an open letter to Mr Kenny describing the pressure her late husband was under before he died.

Two hundred and fifty people were evacuated from their Priory Hall homes in Oct 2011 due to fears over fire safety.

They were built by developer Tom McFeely.