Apartment resident raises safety breach concerns
By Laura Lyne
A RESIDENT of the Moynihan Court apartments located at Main Street, Tallaght has raised health and safety concerns surrounding the complex, following a number of delays by the management company in replacing a fire extinguisher and making repairs to a broken light in its car park.
Mark Gilligan, who lives in Block H of Moynihan Court, raised concerns surrounding an empty fire extinguisher and replacement of a sign indicating the fire extinguisher’s type, calling it a “massive breach of health and safety regulations”. He was also met with a 13-week delay after reporting a broken light in the complex’s car park.
Speaking to The Echo, Mark said: “Everything is left to the very last minute. There are nine blocks, each with multiple people and various things happen on a regular basis.
“I’m constantly chasing them for an update, and there were numerous occasions last year that I’ve had to get in touch with them.
“After I reported an empty fire extinguisher, I was told that the extinguishers are only required by the insurance company and that fire officers do not want them in complexes, as they want people to leave the building immediately.
“No fire officer is going to say that they don’t want fire extinguishers in an apartment block.
“The first extinguishers are a critical health and safety issue. What if there’s an incident before anything is addressed? Is it only going to be addressed after something happens?
“I am not going to pay my full management fees for a service that we are not getting provided to us.
“There are minor problems that are being left to the last minute also, such as rubbish not being cleaned for weeks.
“It’s in total disarray, with stuff just not being done. I’m sure there are a lot more residents that have issues with the management company, not just myself.”
Following the correspondence with the company, Mr Gilligan contacted the fire prevention unit of Dublin Fire Brigade for clarification.
In the response to Mr Gilligan, a fire prevention officer from Dublin Fire Brigade said that supplied fire extinguishers should “comply in full with IS 291 : 2015 (selection, commissioning, installation, inspection and maintenance of portable fire extinguishers).”
They also said that Section 19 of the Fire Services Acts, 1981 and 2003 states that a building could be “potentially dangerous” if not provided with adequate appliances or fittings for extinguishing fires.
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