2026-05-27

Last Friday, in the very early hours of the morning, a serious fire broke out in the Auburn Park apartments in Castleknock in my constituency. The Minister of State knows Castleknock and is probably aware of this apartment block. The fire was significant. Up to four fire engines were dispatched to bring it under control. At least one person was taken to hospital with smoke inhalation. Hundreds of people, all the residents of this block of apartments, had to be evacuated in order to control the fire. Significant damage was done to the roof of the complex. A number of the apartments on the top floors were directly exposed, and others suffered severe water damage as a result of the efforts to extinguish the fire. All 45 apartments in the complex are currently vacant. Most of the residents were accommodated in a hotel on the night of the fire and have been in that local hotel since then. Locals in the area are working to assist those who were evacuated, particularly those whose apartments were severely damaged. The key point for me this morning is what happens next. All bar nine of the 45 apartments are owned by a property group and are leased out by that group. Shockingly, earlier this week, many of the residents were told that they were having their tenancy terminated due to the units being uninhabitable. The Minister of State can imagine the shock that created, in that on top of a fire tenants were told their tenancy was gone, just like that. Thankfully, that notice of termination of tenancy has been withdrawn by the property group, and that is something I welcome. However, there is still real concern among these tenants. They have been told they have an hour-long slot to go into their apartments, gather up their stuff and take it out as if people could pack up their entire lives in just one hour. Right now, the residents have accommodation in a hotel but that ends tomorrow, and after that there is no clarity about how these residents are going to be supported. I have a number of questions the residents need answered urgently to give them some guidance about what happens next. Can a landlord terminate a tenancy on the basis of a unit being uninhabitable, and is there any restriction on the landlord doing that? If a landlord terminates a tenancy on the basis of a unit being uninhabitable, does he or she owe the tenant any other duties after doing that? When a unit has been damaged but the tenancy has not been terminated, what duties does a landlord owe a tenant in that particular situation? For example, does the landlord have any duty to find alternative accommodation for the tenant? Does he or she have any responsibilities as regards assisting the tenant finding and paying for storage for their personal items? Finally, if a landlord does not provide alternative accommodation in circumstances where a unit is badly damaged, where else can the tenant get help? Does the local authority owe any of the obligations there? Do any other parts of the State owe obligations in that particular situation? These are detailed questions. I recognise the Minister of State is not the line Minister here but these questions really need to be answered urgently because tenants in the vast majority of these homes are looking at a deadline where their accommodation in a hotel is paid until tomorrow and no further. They need to know what to do. I am working to support them, and Deputy Currie has engaged with them and has been giving a lot of help as well, but if we can get some key answers and clarity about the legal responsibilities here, it will at least help guide the tenants to a certain degree.

I thank Deputy O'Gorman for raising this issue. I join with him in recognising the distress the tenants are experiencing as a result of this very traumatic event, and also recognise his advocacy on their behalf, as well as the very stressful situation they remain in as a result of no longer being in their apartments. I am taking this on behalf of the Minister for housing and the Department of housing. The Deputy raised a number of very pertinent and urgent questions in his contribution and I certainly will ask the Department to revert directly to him to have them answered. The Minister was also concerned to learn of the fire at the Auburn Park apartments last week, and likewise he very much appreciates the distress experienced by the residents and the families affected by the fire. The role of the Department of housing is to ensure a framework of policy, legislation and funding is provided to ensure housing authorities are in a position to address homelessness at a local level. Statutory responsibility for the provision and co-ordination of emergency accommodation rests with the local authorities and in this instance it is the responsibility of Fingal County Council to assess individual needs and deliver supports on the ground, including housing needs assessments, the provision of emergency accommodation and any homelessness supports required for residents affected. The local authority will work with other agencies such as the Dublin Fire Brigade, the Department of Social Protection, the HSE and approved housing bodies, where appropriate, to ensure all necessary supports are put in place. I assure the Deputy on behalf of the Minister, Deputy Browne and the Department of housing that they will continue to support Fingal County Council with the funding necessary to ensure that residents of Auburn Park are supported in accessing housing assistance where appropriate in the weeks ahead. This year, more than €563 million has been allocated to homeless services, ensuring that local authorities such as Fingal County Council have the resources required to respond rapidly to situations like this. This includes more than €513 million in current funding to ensure local authorities can provide emergency accommodation, homelessness prevention and tenancy sustainment services to households experiencing or at risk of homelessness and that these households in emergency accommodation are supported to exit homelessness as quickly as possible. The focus is on ensuring rapid access to emergency accommodation, followed by wrap-around supports and pathways back into secure housing. Supporting individuals and families facing homelessness is a key priority for both the Minister and the Government and prevention of homelessness in the first instance is an absolute priority. There are many prevention initiatives already under way in the Department and across Government, and this includes the provision of social affordable housing, housing assistance payments, HAP, and homeless HAP, and our strong tenancy protection legislation. Increased supply is key to addressing homelessness and the Government is investing significantly in that aspect. I know Deputy O'Gorman’s particular question is in relation to the need for urgent support for the residents of the Auburn Park apartments and the very distressing situation they find themselves in. Fingal County Council will be liaising closely with them along with the Department of housing, and its response today makes it clear that from a funding point of view it stands ready to work with Fingal County Council and other agencies in relation to trying to support residents and work through this particular challenging situation. The questions the Deputy has raised are very pertinent for residents in relation to the obligations from the owners of the apartments to them. On the legal questions he posed in relation to what those obligations are, I will ask the Department to revert directly to him with those answers. Again I share concern regarding the really difficult situation these residents find themselves in, and recognise the importance of everyone within the State and all of our agencies working to support them through this difficult period.

I thank the Minister of State for his response. In Topical Issue debates, we often hear a Minister or Minister of State saying, "I will ask the Minister to get back to you." I really appeal to the Minister of State to ask his private secretary to get on to the Minister's private secretary and bring this to his attention. I know he will and I appreciate that. I put a lot of very specific questions to the Minister of State. The answer he has given me is more generalised, and that is fine. However, these specific questions need to be answered. The focus of the reply is very much on the question of homelessness, and let us be honest, these people are homeless right now. Some units are not usable at all while some probably will be usable after a bit of work. The Minister of State talked about the Government being willing to support Fingal in terms of providing homeless services, and I know our local authority works well, but I am interested in the responsibility of the landlord here because we are not talking about a small landlord or someone who has two or three apartments he or she lets out. This is a significant property development and rental company that has a significant number of units around the city and around the country. I do not know what its responsibility is in a situation like this. Does it have a responsibility to have some degree of insurance if something happens in one of its properties to be able to support tenants if a disastrous situation like this occurs? I ask for clarity on the immediate obligations of this landlord company to its tenants. Does it have to support them in terms of providing alternative accommodation? Do they have to support them in the context of providing alternative accommodation? How long will that last, or, as seems to be the case right now, are these tenants provided for up until tomorrow and then they have to fend for themselves? If that is the case, there is something significantly wrong with the legislative framework we have in place. I thank the Minister of State for his answer. I appeal to him to raise this with the Minister for housing and ask him to revert to me and other Deputies, including Deputy Currie, as quickly as possible.

I assure Deputy O'Gorman that I will immediately relay this back to the Minister for housing and his Department and ask them to respond directly to the Deputy in relation to the really important questions he has posed. I understand the real stress that affected residents are experiencing, where they are not clear on what the situation is or the obligations for support to them when the provision of hotel accommodation runs out tomorrow and the immediate challenge that will arise for them. In regard to landlords, it is important that there is legal clarity in relation to what their obligations are. It would be important to see that accommodation be available again as quickly as possible when repairs have been carried out in the context of the different levels of damage there would be to each apartment. I have no doubt that for most of the residents, their objective is, if at all possible, to be back in their apartments as quickly as they possibly can. There is the short-term and interim piece in relation to how they are supported through this. The obligations of the apartment owner in relation to that, which are going to be important, require that clarity. From the point of view of the State, Fingal County Council and State agencies working to support them in the interim period is also important. I will ask the Department and the Minister to revert directly to the Deputy on the questions he has raised.