Call for buildings audit as falling debris forces street closure
Cllr Kenneth O’Flynn was speaking last night after fire officers closed a section of South Main St, between its junction with Washington St and Tuckey St, for some time in the morning after debris fell from a building in the area.
The street was reopened later after city council officials inspected the affected area.
The incident occurred early in the morning and there were no injuries.
But it is the latest in a series of falling debris incidents in the city centre.
Last month, falling masonry forced the closure of the busy pedestrianised French Church St. That incident occurred in the evening and again there were no injuries.
Mr O’Flynn said it is very concerning that there have been two such incidents in such a short space of time.
“It is only a matter of time before somebody is hurt — or worse. People’s lives are at risk,” he warned.
He plans to write to the acting chief executive of Cork City Council requesting a full city-wide engineering audit of certain buildings to identify issues such as loose roof tiles or slates, or loose masonry, which could pose a risk to public health.
“It should occur immediately and be conducted urgently,” he said.
“We have an old city with some great old buildings of great character which must be preserved.
“But we must also ensure that they in safe condition. There is an onus on building owners to ensure that their buildings are in safe condition.”
He said the full rigours of the law should be brought to bear on building owners who ignore their duties and obligations to maintain their buildings.
High winds last December dislodged debris and masonry from buildings in and around the Paul St car park area, forcing the closure of neighbouring streets.
Loose guttering on a building in January forced the closure of Castle St for several hours.
Shoppers had a lucky escape in 2009 when several internal sections of a shop on Castle St collapsed, spilling tonnes of debris out on the street in August. The building was subsequently demolished.
In December 1999, a young woman was killed and eight people were injured following the partial collapse of a building on Washington St.
