Sinn Féin Dublin City Councillor Mícheál MacDonncha has said that the scandal of Priory Hall must not be allowed to continue into a third year without resolution.

He called on Taoiseach Enda Kenny to act in response to the heartfelt plea from Stephanie Meehan, the recently bereaved Priory Hall evacuee.

Councillor Mac Donncha said: "People have been deeply moved by the heartfelt plea from Stephanie Meehan to the Taoiseach Enda Kenny. Stephanie recently lost her partner, and the father of her children, Fiachra Daly, who took his own life, as a result of the terrible stress of their situation nearly two years after being evacuated from Priory Hall.

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"It is scandalous that almost two years have passed and still no government minister has taken up this issue to help bring about a resolution. The minister responsible, Phil Hogan, has washed his hands of it and has yet even to meet the residents, despite numerous requests to do so.

"What is needed now is for the government and all concerned to put

maximum pressure on those financial institutions who have yet to co-operate with a resolution process.

"This needs to be done before the 15 October Supreme Court appeal by Dublin City Council management against the order for them to fund accommodation for the evacuees and before the second anniversary of the evacuation of Priory Hall on 17 October.

"Every former resident of Priory Hall must be assured their right to a home and their right not to be financially penalised for a housing disaster not of their making.

"An unscrupulous developer, so-called self-regulation and the neglect by government and local authority were the causes of this scandal. It must not be allowed to run into a third year without relieving the huge financial pressure people are under with the interest accrual on mortgages. These people must be allowed to get on with their lives."

(CD/JP)