Former council library is now available to rent
By Aideen O'Flaherty
THE former premises of Castletymon Library is now available to rent, after a ‘to let’ sign was placed on-site last week following the council’s claim that the building was “unsuitable for occupation” while it was being used by the library service.
This follows the library’s closure last month, ahead of the development of a new library in the area which is set to open its doors in 2019.
The lease on the library’s premises in Castletymon Shopping Centre ended last month.
The library, had been serving the community since 1984, and recent interim measures were announced by South Dublin County Council which include the provision of a mobile library service in the area.
A number of the groups who used to use the library are now being facilitated in St Aengus’ Community Centre.
In a statement released by the council at this month’s Tallaght Local Area Committee meeting, the council stated that they did not seek renewal of the lease as “the building was in increasingly poor condition.
“Ongoing leaks have deteriorated the building fabric which has made the building unsuitable for occupation.
“These works were the subject of a mediation agreement between the council and the building owner.
“Failure to carry out the works has left us with no option but to leave the existing building.”
The council added that while they understood councillors’ concerns about a mobile library being “no full substitute” for a branch library, the use of mobile libraries will be a temporary measure until the new library building will be completed.
The council’s statement further added: “We will examine existing school and community buildings nearby to evaluate the possibility of a temporary library service in one of these institutions.
“This will take a bit of time to investigate and gain agreement with existing owners, but if we can get agreement it would be a substitute alternative to the mobile library.”
