Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 27 September 2022
181. Deputy Aengus Ó Snodaigh asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage if he will provide an update on negotiations with Dublin City Council concerning the transfer of a property (details supplied); if it is to be purchased for accommodation; and if so, the type of accommodation. [47091/22]
Amharc ar fhreagraWeir Home is a HSE owned Edwardian institutional building on Cork Street in Dublin, it was built in 1903 to accommodate nurses working at Cork Street Fever Hospital. It remained a nurses’ home until the late 1970s.
Since the early 1980s it has been used as a mental health facility. The large red-brick institution shares its grounds with the Cork Street Quaker cemetery which was in use from the 1690s until the late 1860s.
Peter McVerry Trust, the relevant Approved Housing Body (AHB), are in discussions with the HSE with a view to acquiring this long term vacant property and returning it to active use for social housing. The AHB intend to refurbish the building and provide 19 new social housing units under the Capital Assistance Scheme.
To this end my Department have provided approval for the AHB to carry out a detailed investigative condition survey and fire safety audit, including opening up works, and surveys for asbestos and invasive alien species to establish the extent of works required to bring the property up to a standard to meet current building regulations.
Dublin City Council have advised that the AHB are negotiating directly with the HSE to determine the extent of the red line boundary for the site. It is not clear at this stage if the Quaker burial grounds will form part of the acquisition.
