Tag Archives: Longboat Quay

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Tom Tuite, in the Irish Times, reports:

“Residents at Longboat Quay apartments in Dublin have been given 18 months to complete almost €4 million worth of vital fire safety modifications.”

A court order stalls the threat of evacuation hanging over approximately 600 residents from the 298 apartments in the Dublin docklands.”

Yay!

Longboat Quay has 18 months to complete fire safety modifications (Irish Times)

Previously: The Longboat Of The Law

How Many More Longboats?

Rollingnews.ie

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Residents of Longboat Quay, David Kindlon, Michael Ingle, Caroline McEvoy, Niamh Bruce and Seamus Bagnall, outside Leinister House earlier before they met Environment Minister Alan Kelly

Meanwhile, in the Dáil…

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Anyone?

Previously: The Longboat Of The Law

Phil’s Light Touch Legacy

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This evening.

At the corner of Stephen’s Green and Earlsfort Terrace.

The former Canada House site, owned by Denis O’Brien, which is being developed by Bernard McNamara, of Longboat Quay fame.

Lorcan Sirr tweetz:

“The scaffolding coming off Mr McNamara’s latest contribution to Dublin. Hope it’s better than his previous efforts.”

Previously: The Longboat Of The Law

Different Strokes For Different Volks

Munificence Doesn’t Live Here Anymore

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Longboat Quay apartment complex in Dublin

A purely hypothetical scenario. I own a German car and an apartment in Dublin. I discover that there are some problems with both. In the first case, the head of the car maker resigns in disgrace, millions are wiped from its share value, and it spends many millions more making reparations and recalling the faulty product, at its own expense. And all to fix a “fault” which turns out to be lines of code in the onboard computer that won’t make a damn bit of difference to the car.
The apartment, it turns out, was not built correctly. Somebody broke the regulations, and someone else never checked the work. I am told that I need to fork out thousands to fix a potentially dangerous problem that was not of my own making. And no-one else will have to pay; certainly not those that should be liable. So what’s wrong with this picture? I’m not sure, but if someone knocks on your door in the coming months, you might ask them.

Declan Kenny.
Leixlip,
Co Kildare.

Meanwhile…

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On last night’s The Week In Politics on RTÉ One, Environment Minister Alan Kelly was on the panel, along with Independent TD Clare Daly and Sinn Féin TD Pádraig Mac Lochlainn.

Presenter Áine Lawlor raised the issue of Longboat Quay.

Áine Lawlor: “It’s a failure of regulation. The reforms this Government brought in after Priory Hall haven’t stopped this from happening again. What are you going to do now?”

Alan Kelly: “Firstly, it is a failure of regulation. I have huge sympathy for the people who have found themselves in this situation and it does need to be solved. There has been strength in regulation, absolutely has been strength in regulation. Obviously, this predates this. But together, the Dublin Docklands [Development] Authority, the receiver, the builder…”

Lawlor: “What are you going to do for the residents?”

Kelly: “Wait a sec, there is a package being worked on with the residents. And discussions will continue..”

Lawlor: “What will it be? Interest-free loans?”

Kelly: “Well, all that is being looked at. I’m not going to get into the specifics in relation to that. The Dublin docklands authority have their own board, their own structure. It wouldn’t be appropriate as minister to actually intercept that. But I am encouraging them to make sure that something will happen. But I do want to make one other thing in relation to this, which is very clear. This isn’t the only site that will have issues. There will be more coming down the road. I expect that. Because of the level of regulation that was there in the past and the standards that were maintained which were unacceptable…”

Lawlor: “The lack of independent inspection. Are you going to…I’ll bring in Clare Daly now. Are you going to bring in independent inspection.”

Kelly: “There are inspectors there already. We have ramped up the inspection process to ensure that, into the future, when construction is ongoing, that this can never happen again...”

Lawlor: “No more self certification?”

Kelly: “This, as regards buildings like this, of course, there is a programme in relation to regulation that’s there, in place. However I’m saying this straight out here, I do expect that there will be other locations that will come on stream which will have issues. And not every single situation is the same. So we’re going to have to look at how we’re going to intercept and help all the others.”

Later

Clare Daly: “I do think that the State has a responsibility because this has arisen precisely because of the lack of a clerk of works or public oversight and the minister says he’s brought in new regulations and they are new but they don’t get over that problem. All that the new regulation does is allow the person to identify somebody who potentially they could sue in the future. It does not avoid this happening. The only way in which we can stop this happening is by on-site inspection. It happens in the North, it happens in Britain, France, in Germany, it is not happening now.”

Watch back in full here

Longboat Quay (Irish Times letter page)

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Last night.

Further to revelations that the Longboat Quay apartment complex (top) in Dublin developed by Bernard McNamara may be evacuated because of failure to meet fire safety standards.

Hubert Fitzpatrick, Director, Housing, Planning & Development at the Construction Federation of Ireland (above left), Robin Mandel, president of The Royal Institute of the Architects of Ireland (right) and Longboat Quay apartment owner Seamus Cullen joined Miriam O’Callaghan on last night’s Prime Time on RTÉ One.

Miriam O’Callaghan: “Hubert Fitzpatrick (Construction Federation], I mean it’s a fair point from Shay [a resident] isn’t it that, at the end of the day, he bought his apartment in good faith and it was dangerously built. It’s not fire safe proof.”

Hubert Fitzpatrick: “Certainly apartments all apartments should be built in accordance with the building regulations. The builder has a duty to build in accordance with the building regulations. I suppose between 2000 and 2008, there was about 500,000 new houses and apartments built in this country and many of those apartments were built by quality builders who are still in business today and still building today. This type of incident shouldn’t have happened. I would…”

O’Callaghan: “Can I just come in there? Is that goo enough? I mean we’re standing here, we’ve had Priory Hall, we now have Longboat Quay, how many more Longboat Quays are there?”

Fitzpatrick: “No it’s not good enough. The problem at the time is that we did not have a mandatory requirement for inspection and oversight of buildings as they were being constructed.”

O’Callaghan: “What about basic decency of a builder? That they do not put up a dangerous apartment?”

Fitzpatrick: “And there are many, many quality, reputable builders throughout the country who are still in business today, who’ve protected their reputations and they’ve built quality products. Regretfully there are incidences where shortcuts have been taken. It is not acceptable but what I would say is this is a problem that has been identified under building control regulations. With effect from last year, the construction federation worked positively and proactively with the Department of the Environment to ensure that new regulations were brought about where we have adequate oversight…”

O’Callaghan: “Ok but that’s henceforth, as they say. But what about all the apartment buildings that were built during the boom, like Shay bought, how many of those, do you think, could be facing problems like Longboat Quay?”

Fitzpatrick:I cannot say how many might be like that but I would say…”

O’Callaghan: “A lot?”

Fitzpatrick: “But what I would say is there are many quality, reputable builders who are in business for generations…”

O’Callaghan: “Yeah but that’s not what I’m asking. We’re not talking about the good builders here though, are we?”

Fitzpatrick:There are many, many good builders who build quality products. Unfortunately there are some incidences which have arisen, like Longboat Quay, where standards were not adhered to. We must ensure that standards are adhered to by the builders. We must ensure there’s proper oversight to give every homeowner the assurances that the buildings have been built to the required standards and that they’re certified as being fully compliant before the builders are occupied. And that is the requirement under the new building control regulations.”

O’Callaghan: “Yeah well for people who are living in buildings or apartments built before then, they will be very worried tonight. Robin Mandell [Royal Institute of Architecture], I mean your people, your architects obviously, signed off on a lot of these dodgy buildings.

Robin Mandell: “Well I think, just to be very clear, until last year there was no provision under the Building Control Act for any sign up by anybody. The only certification that came, prior to last year, were fire safety certificates and disability access certificates, which were for design only. So there was no provision under building control, for anyone to sign anything off. And in this…”

O’Callaghan: “But can I just come in there. Surely the basic professional standards of decency of any architect is that they will not go into somewhere, like Longboat Quay, and say ‘this is safe’, ‘this is something I should be working on’.”

Mandell: “Absolutely but I don’t…”

O’Callaghan: “But they obviously did?”

Mandell: “Well I don’t know if they did in this case. I’m not sure if there was an architect involved in the construction of the development. There certainly was in the design but I don’t, I’m not aware there was one or not. I think the really important this is, as Hubert says, and really for Shay, Shay shouldn’t be standing here this evening. If there’s a problem with buildings they should be fixed. And the RIAI has consistently, repeatedly identified the elements that are required for a good system of building control. And they’re very simple. They’re inspection, independent inspection, there’s latent defects insurance which is universal across Europe, there is a register of competent contractors and there is engagement by the building control authority.”

O’Callaghan: “Can I just come back in there? I hear all that and that sounds terrific but the bottom line is that builders and architects ended up, whatever word you want to use, signing off on buildings like Longboat Quay which are dangerous firetraps that Shay, and people like him, bought.”

Mandell: “No, I think you might have…No architect signed off anything under the building control regulations…”

O’Callaghan: “Involved in the building, the design of buildings…”

Mandell: “Again, I don’t know, this one, if there was an architect involved in the construction. In the design, you can be sure that the design was compliant, if designed by an architect.”

O’Callaghan: “Shay, since we’re dealing with builders who may not be able to pay, how much more do you want Nama, and all the other State agencies to pay 100% of what is owing here?”

Shay: “Yes of course I want…the DDDA [Dublin Docklands Development Authority] and Nama to pay the €4million that’s due. And, apparently, the builder [Bernard] McNamara has 18 apartments in those blocks. So if the €4million is paid, those 18 apartments can be refurbished or done up and sold off and Nama will get their money back with those 18 apartments that McNamara apparently owns in those blocks there.”

O’Callaghan: “From your point of view, representing these builders, what do you think should happen in relation to Shay’s case in Longboat Quay? Who should pick up the full tab?”

Fitzpatrick: “I don’t know the particular detail of this particular development. But we should look at the insurances that backed up this development. You know, what type of cover did the premiere guarantee insurance provide Seamus… Did it provide for proper fire-stopping in the units? I do know that current insurance policies in place do provide for adequate fire stopping and that would provide some comfort to other users. But what I would say, from an industry perspective, we fully support proper oversight of all buildings as they are being constructed. We want to ensure that the builders’ work is checked, to ensure the builder carries out his work effectively and that no building is occupied until such a time that the building is certified as being fully compliant with the regulations.”

O’Callaghan: “What help is that to Shay tonight?”

Fitzpatrick: “It is a very difficult situation for Shay and I fully sympathise with Shay and the other residents in Longboat Quay but I suggest one should look behind the insurance policies that may have supported that building. Is there some cover available from premiere guarantee that might provide, bridge the gap between the cost of what’s required to repair it which would move the process forward satisfactorily.”

O’Callaghan: “And you slightly dodged my question, my earlier question was: how many other Priory Halls and Longboat Quays do you think there are?”

Fitzpatrick: “I don’t know Miriam.”

O’Callaghan: “Would you say there are a fair few?”

Fitzpatrick: “I don’t know MIriam. What I would say is there are many quality professional builders out there, they’ve been there for generations and they’ve respected their reputation and they’re working proactively at the moment in the industry. And they will not cut short, corners in order to make a quick buck on some development like this.”

Watch back here

Previously: Munificence Doesn’t Live Here Anymore

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Longboat Quay complex at Sir John Rogerson’s Quay, Dublin and developer Bernard McNamara

 

You may recall how Michael Clifford, in the Irish Examiner, reported in February how fire marshals had been on constant patrol in the Longboat Quay apartment development in Dublin since June 2014, following the discovery of major construction flaws that rendered the buildings firetraps.

This morning, Mr Clifford reported that the owners of apartments at Longboat Quay have been told that they must come up with €4million in less than a week – between €9,300 and €18,000 each depending on the size of their apartment – or Dublin Fire Brigade will have the building evacuated.

Mr Clifford reported that while a tender has been accepted for remedial works at the development on Sir John Rogerson’s Quay, no funding has been acquired to carry out the work.

Longboat Quay was built by Bernard McNamara’s development firm, Gendsong, which is in receivership. Mr McNamara is currently redeveloping the former Canada House site on St Stephen’s Green for Denis O’Brien.

Richard Eardley, resident and director of Longboat Quay management company, spoke to Áine Lawlor on RTÉ’s News At One about the situation facing the residents of Longboat Quay.

Áine Lawlor: “Do you think it’s realistic that Bernard McNamara who has discharged, having built this, has discharged his debt and is now back in business, do you think it’s realistic that, out of concern for the plight of residents, he will re-engage, do you think the receiver will come up with more? Do you think the Docklands Authority will come up with more?”

Richard Eardley: “Well the receiver has been very engaged throughout and they have said they’ve made a significant contribution so far, as have the DDDA [Dublin Docklands Development Authority]. It would be wonderful to think that Bernard McNamara might out of his munificence, come back and contribute towards a problem that he was part of creating in the first place.”

Lawlor: Are you holding your breath on that one?”

Eardley:No. It would be wonderful to see. Do I think it’s going to happen? I’m not sure. It would be wonderful if some pressure could be put on, because that is where the original fault lies. The problem is his development vehicle Gendsong went into liquidation so there is no legal recourse there. We’re dependent upon the other parties, the receiver who’s looking after the assets of Gendsong in the development and the DDDA who is still the owners of the common areas of the development to make their significant and very best proposals to sort the problem out.”

Listen back in full here

Dublin apartment residents face €4m bill over fire concerns (RTE)

Previously: So Longboat

The Eve Of Eviction

Sam Boal/Rollingnews.ie

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Longboat Quay development in Dublin’s docklands

Mick Clifford, in today’s Irish Examiner, reports that fire marshals have been on constant patrol in the Longboat Quay apartment development in Dublin since last June, following “the discovery of major construction flaws that rendered the buildings firetraps.”

He reports:

The discovery of the serious structural deficiencies in the Longboat Quay development in Dublin’s docklands occurred during a routine inspection last June, eight years after the buildings were constructed by former developer, Bernard McNamara.

The deficiencies included the construction of walls that were inadequate for the containment of fire and an absence of smoke vents — regarded as vital to preserve life during fires.

A range of other deficiencies was also identified after a series of investigations following the initial discovery. Most of the deficiencies mirrored those that led to the evacuation of the Priory Hall development in 2011.”

‘Firetrap’ building put 200 residents at risk (Irish Examiner)

Taxpayer to foot part of bill for safety works at Longboat Quay (Irish Examiner)

Previously: The Eve Of Eviction

Pic: Updatetechnology