Updated 11am
THE EVACUATED RESIDENTS of the Priory Hall apartment complex in north Dublin have criticised the apparent decision of some banks not to participate in a consultation proposed by the Supreme Court.
The Sunday Business Post reported yesterday said the banks that provided mortgages to residents of the complex and the Irish Banking Federation (IBF) had refused to engage in the process of conciliation which will be chaired by the retired Supreme Court judge Joseph Finnegan.
The IBF has since said that it was never asked to take part in the conciliation process and does not envisage being part of it. AIB has said today it “is happy to engage fully with the new process.”
Reacting, spokesman for the residents Graham Usher told TheJournal.ie that AIB’s comments marked “an extremely positive development” and called for other banks involved to follow suit.
It’s believed that there are seven mortgage lenders between Priory Hall residents with over half of the mortgages with AIB and Bank of Ireland. BoI did not immediately return a request for comment.
Finnegan was appointed to chair the process after the Supreme Court agreed to suspend Dublin City Council’s appeal against covering the costs of the evacuated residents to allow for a mediation process.
Around 100 families who own homes in the apartment complex in Donaghmede were ordered to evacuated in October of last year over fire safety fears. They have been living in temporary accommodation since.
Residents are calling for a temporary freeze on their mortgages while they are unable to live in the homes they are paying for but most banks have said that they will only deal with the residents on a case-by-case basis.
Speaking to RTÉ Radio this morning, spokesman Usher said such a process “isn’t appropriate with regard to Priory Hall”.
“The reality is that these homes aren’t safe to live in. It cant be dealt with on a case-by-case basis,” he said.
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