Priory Hall debacle-Taoiseach should listen

With the suicide of Fiachra Daly, the Priory Hall debacle turned from an extravagant travesty into a human tragedy.

Taoiseach Enda Kenny has recognised all the residents of Priory Hall have suffered a “complete injustice,” but nevertheless signalled that he cannot meet the residents before legal proceedings are ended.

Maybe he would be constrained in what he would say, but he could and should at least listen to them. His refusal to do so appears mean-spirited and is, therefore, politically destructive.

It is also time to realise that there may be other tragedies just waiting to happen, because the light touch regulation that allowed the building of Priory Hall probably applied also to other large buildings around the country. It is important such flaws should be detected and rectified before a fire leads to a huge disaster.

The plight of the Priory Hall residents must be addressed with urgency, and other similar developments identified. The size of the problem needs to be recognised in order to deal with it properly.