Carrick-on-Suir Councillor Kieran Bourke has called for immediate action to stop the Tír na nÓg building from collapsing on Carrick's Main Street. The Tír na nÓg is said to be a former pub that was damaged by fire.
Although Tipperary Council accepted the councillor’s point, they insisted that proper procedures must be followed by the appropriate department when dealing with private property.
Cllr Bourke rejected this and asked that the work be done immediately and the let the ‘paper work’ come later. It was suggested by a Council official that disregarding legislation could have unintended consequences.
This disagreement developed during the April meeting of Carrick-on-Suir Municipal District Council.
“This is an accident waiting to happen,” said Cllr Bourke, referring to the former Tír na nÓg premises.
“As an experienced building contractor, I have examined this only yesterday, and in my opinion this building, this wall, is ready to fall down,” he said.
“I am asking the planning section to do something about it, and Tipperary County Council to reduce the wall down to a safe level standard. It is too late to leave it go for weeks.
“I think this is an emergency and needs to be treated as an emergency.”
In reply to this, Fergal O’Donnell, executive planner for Tipperary Council explained that the Environment department would have to address the situation.
“The planning section deals specifically with the dereliction side, the environment section deal with the dangerous structure side. There is a different piece of legislation they use where there is a building they deem to be dangerous. We need to be conscious that planning can only work on the basis of dereliction, which may not be dangerous.”
Cllr Bourke pushed back against these technicalities.
“I flagged this a number of weeks ago. It’s no consolation to the person under that rubble if that wall falls on them or falls on their car. It’s no consolation that it has been referred from Billy to Jack to Jack to Billy to see who’s responsibility it is. Action needs to be taken ASAP,” Cllr. Bourke said.
“After that you can decide who is responsible for it,” he added.
A Council representative acknowledged: “I do take the point and it is well made”.
“But we do need to be conscious that there is legislation. It is a private property. In order to achieve the ultimate end, result we have to follow legislation the way it is set out.
“I know that’s not what you want to hear. But if we don’t follow it and we go onto private property and carry out works there are implications for the local authority. So, we have to be careful in terms of the steps we take.
“We will try to get over the urgency of the situation to the environment section in order to get them to review it. They are aware of it. It won’t come as a surprise to them. They are aware of it. They have looked at the property in the past,” the council official added.
Emergency measures
To this Cllr Bourke pushed back further, while apologising for doing so.
“I don’t want to be going over and back with you, I really don’t, and I appreciate your reply on that. But if there’s a burst water main on the road outside, Irish Water can skip through road opening licences because it is an emergency, they can bypass all that and just do it, and do the paperwork afterwards,” he pointed out.
“In my opinion this is the same.
“Before this meeting is over, this front wall could be down on top of somebody’s car or on top of a mother walking a buggy with a child. People are coming in to my constituency office, shoppers and people on the street, and they are avoiding walking on that section because they are afraid the whole thing is going to come down on top of them. It’s that urgent,” Cllr. Bourke said.
“I think all this protocol should be shoved to one side and action done, and we can worry about protocol afterwards,” he added.
AARON KENT
Funded by the Local Democracy Reporting Scheme
