Calls for council to acquire historic Liberties building offered 'for free'

Dublin City Council faces mounting pressure to acquire the former James Weir Home for Nurses in the Liberties for community use after it emerged the historic building was offered for free by the HSE

Pressure is mounting for Dublin City Council to intervene and stop the sale of the former James Weir Home for Nurses in the Liberties.

The building is currently owned by the HSE and is potentially going to be advertised on the private market after attempts to transfer public ownership broke down. Sinn Féin Councillor Ciarán Ó Meachair has consistently highlighted the lack of community spaces in the Liberties and has campaigned for DCC to acquire the Cork Street site.

DCC councillors have previously requested that it be acquired by the council and converted for the community. However, the council declined to proceed with the acquisition, even after being offered the building free of charge by the HSE.

Councillor Ó Meachair submitted an emergency motion on the issue to the South Central Area Committee calling for DCC to urgently intervene and acquire the building. “There was a petition run locally where the local community said clearly they wanted to see community use for the building,” he said.

“This was presented to the HSE and they said they would fully support this move, but legally they could only transfer ownership to another public body. DCC said it would be too expensive. I have now obtained information that the HSE offered a transfer of ownership to DCC free of charge, and DCC still refused this.

View 2 Images Sinn Fein Councillor Ciaran O Meachair outside HSE headquarters Dr Steevens' Hospital, following a meeting on the future of the James Weir Home for Nurses

“Local organisations, including Solas Project are interested in using it, have also said they would be open to fundraising to carry out repair works on the building if that is needed to bring it up to standard. So, it seems the actual cost for DCC and the taxpayer to get this done is nothing.

“DCC need to urgently clarify if they turned down the opportunity to get ownership of the building for free. Dublin 8 is crying out for community spaces, Cork Street is now dominated by Hotels and Student Accommodation blocks. The James Weir Home could be a gamechanger for the community, but Dublin City Council need to step up to the plate.”

Executive Manager Bernard Kelly told councillors that the James Weir Home was previously under consideration for social housing, which was ultimately deemed non-viable . As a registered protected structure only minimal structural intervention on the building would be allowable. Mr Kelly stressed this creates difficulties and huge costs with ensuring it meets accessibility and energy efficiency requirements.

“Such specialist-led conservation works would require significant investment from DCC. It would not be possible to meet the building standards as they currently stand,” he said.

Mr Kelly conceded that “DCC has previously notified the HSE that it is not interested in acquiring the property” on the basis for social housing . But, he did not dismiss the possibility of carrying a feasibility study on the costs of repurposing the building for community use. Although the area office has no budgetary provision for any refurbishments of the James Weir Home, Mr Kelly believes “the costs would likely be very steep”.

Social Democrats Cllr Lesley Bryen questioned if delisting the building from their protected register had been considered - council management said they had not. Independent Cllr Vincent Jackson pointed out the irony that by classifying the building as protected they have potentially doomed it to further dereliction.

He said if the protections currently in place mean nobody can do anything with the building then it will “just languish there until the roof caves in”. Cllr Jackson said “I hope I’m wrong,” but predicted a future where “the site will be levelled and they’ll be a block of apartments”.

Fianna Fáil Cllr Ammar Ali said the Liberties is an area severely lacking community spaces and to allow the James Weir Home to fall into private ownership would be “the worst thing we could do for the next or this generation” of people in Dublin 8. “We cannot be wasting these buildings,” he said.

One suggestion is for DCC to acquire the James Weir Home and facilitate it being transferred to a third-party for community use. Labour Cllr Darragh Moriarty said this could be done at no cost to the council and allow a group, like the Solas Project, to take responsibility for its refurbishment.

“The Solas Project is very active in seeking a consolidated space for their service in the Liberties area,” he said, revealing they currently operate from seven separate spaces. “They are interested in the facility and they have some financial backing.”

Cllr Ó Meachair agreed that this could be a viable way to move this issue forward as "charity groups don’t have to meet the same standards as DCC” and this could act as a “workaround”. “It might not be the most accessible building, but as it stands it’s not accessible to anybody,” he said.

"Here is a prime piece of land in the heart of Dublin 8 that’s lying idle. Cork Street is an area practically taken over by hotels and student accommodation . Here is a real good opportunity for Dublin City Council to directly intervene and ensure this fantastic building serves the local community of Dublin 8."

Management and councillors agreed to discuss the matter further in a closed meeting, as the commercial sensitivities of acquisitions and transfers required privacy. A petition organised by Cllr Ó Meachair titled ‘Keep The James Weir Home on Cork Street, D8 in public hands’ can be found at my.uplift.ie .

This content is funded by the Local Democracy Reporting Scheme

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