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Residents of Sandyford apartments asked to foot 'potential' €10,000 bill

“Our neighbours, our friends, we’re all in shock. I’m getting married this year – I don’t know where the money will come from.”

Beacon South Quarter Google Maps Google Maps

If you bought a doll’s house in a shop, and you got home and found out that it was a fire hazard, you’d be allowed to bring  it back immediately and repaired for you. But it’s not the same for us: we were sold a property in good faith, we bought it in good faith, and it has a lot of deficiencies.- Killian Ryan, resident of Beacon South Quarter apartments.

THE RESIDENTS OF Beacon South Quarter apartments have a decision to make: pay thousands of euros to fix structural problems with the buildings they own, or refuse.

These problems are causing water ingress in some of the apartments; while other deficiencies are classed as non-compliant with fire safety issues – issues that residents have been reporting for some time.

On Wednesday 18 January, residents were sent invoices to fix the problems, and a notice that at an AGM meeting next Monday, they’ll be given all the information about the problems and asked to vote on whether the apartment owners will agree to pay.

The have no idea what they’ll have to pay – they’re only going off media reports ranging from a total bill of €9 million to €31 million: one resident says the potential invoice could be for €10-15,000 per owner.

Owner

Killian Ryan bought one of the 800 Beacon South Quarter apartments in 2008 under the affordable housing scheme.

Killian says that 20% of the apartments are owner-occupiers, property company Ires Reit own around a quarter, and the rest is divided up between the county council, Cluid housing scheme, Circle voluntary housing scheme, and investors.

They’re really nice apartments, well-kitted out, a facade, lovely interior, decent enough size. Ours is a two-bed apartment on a single floor, but some are one- and three-bedroom apartments, others are duplexes.

He says that water has been leaking into his living room for the last five years, and that they’ve been pursuing it with the insurance company – hoping that they’ll pay. It was only when there was an investigation into the development of the apartment last year that they started stripping walls and realised “bits were missing”.

Monday meetings

It was only when the invoice came through that some of the residents decided to host a meeting to decide if they would go public and contact politicians and press.

They stuck posters in the lifts, set up a website, and used the existing Facebook Page to spread the message. At first residents were concerned that if the news got out their property prices would fall – but after the news was leaked to the media before the first meeting was even held, it was too late to go back.

They met last Monday and again this Monday, ahead of next week’s vote – and although Killian says most of the 120 people who turned up to this week’s meeting seemed to oppose the charge, he’s not sure it will be rejected.

Yesterday, the Irish Times reported that Ires Reit, which is the largest single owner of apartments at Beacon South Quarter, plans to vote in favour of the charge.

“I don’t know what’s going to happen,” he says. “Our neighbours, our friends, we’re all in shock. I’m getting married this year – I don’t know where the money will come from.”

Killian says they’ve been told the problems aren’t so bad that they’ll have to evacuate but changes are needed to be fire safety compliant and for the structural soundness of the building.

Each block has a different set of problems and a different price tag attached to it.

A lot of residents have come forward to tell their story not because they think it will help them, but because they don’t want this kind of thing to happen again.

“I thought we had a government to govern over these things, to oversee development. But developers are just self-regulating,” Killian says.

Investigation: What is Nama doing to help increase social housing supply?

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    Mute Denis Hourihane
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    Feb 11th 2025, 11:46 PM

    Regarding previous article re: Israeli/Hamas ceasefire (that has comments closed….)
    Netanyahu intends to return to war, no matter what ….Any little excuse, he’s back in there, even when all hostages are returned, he’s back in there…..

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    Mute Bat Boy
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    Feb 11th 2025, 11:51 PM

    @Denis Hourihane: he’s busy keeping himself out of prison.

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    Mute John Sleator
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    Feb 12th 2025, 2:37 AM

    @Denis Hourihane: I’m sure himself and Trump had a great chat earlier in the week.
    They remind me of the cartoon “Pinky and the Brain” planning to take over the world,unfortunately this is reality and with dire consequences.

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    Mute Brian Hunt
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    Feb 11th 2025, 11:36 PM

    “remaining homes reconnected”…….Well the upside is they were spared Dancing with the Stars and Fair City for a few days!

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    Mute Paul Gorry
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    Feb 11th 2025, 11:44 PM

    @Brian Hunt: What if they were looking forward to it, tho Brian?

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    Mute Bri Lyons
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    Feb 12th 2025, 2:09 AM

    @Brian Hunt: .

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    Mute Kevin Kerr
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    Feb 12th 2025, 9:15 AM

    @Brian Hunt: thanks for confirming that, really, you don’t give a sh it about these people

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    Mute Andrew Kenny
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    Feb 11th 2025, 11:19 PM

    Anyway a bullet could be lodged in Nethanyahus head!

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    Mute Ger Whelan
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    Feb 12th 2025, 1:53 AM

    @Andrew Kenny: love keyboard warriors like yourself. Great at calling for others to kill someone while you sit in safety behind your keyboard.

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    Mute Joe Beirne
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    Feb 11th 2025, 11:22 PM

    That was quick

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    Mute Ned
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    Feb 12th 2025, 12:50 AM

    Well whoop de do, will there be lessons learned?

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    Mute brendan C5
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    Feb 12th 2025, 12:36 AM

    I call B.S on that, 11 properties in the western side of the country still without power since 4/2/25 and it says reconnection
    currently unknown.

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    Mute Dorothy Giselsson
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    Feb 12th 2025, 1:46 AM

    It’s now 2 am Thursday and my power is still off. The ESB telling porkies…..again.

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    Mute Dorothy Giselsson
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    Feb 12th 2025, 1:47 AM

    @Dorothy Giselsson: Oops Wednesday not Thursday.

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    Mute Dan Murphy
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    Feb 12th 2025, 10:30 AM

    All elderly people without power should be immediately moved to somewhere safe and warm, The same for vulnerable people,lets get a national plan together, organised at council level.

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    Mute Dorothy Giselsson
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    Feb 12th 2025, 6:27 PM

    Still no reconnection date. I’ll be three weeks without mod cons like water, flushing toilet, lights cooking facilities and heating tomorrow night. Is that a record?

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