Dublin City Council said it does not want to be “too oppressive” by asking the High Court to proceed in the depths of winter to order up to 12 alleged trespassers out of a protected derelict building that was once the home and shop of 1916 Rising leader Tom Clarke.
One of the occupants, Jemma Cleaver, told the court on Wednesday that 55 Amiens Street is her home and her fellow dwellers are taking care of it and have fixed leaking pipes after years of neglect by the local authority.
The council spent €630,000 on purchasing the run-down Georgian building in 2018 with plans to transform it into a museum and community centre. The court has heard that works have not begun as a chosen contractor pulled out some 20 months ago but the council is “anxious” to revive its restoration plan.
Last month the council issued High Court proceedings aimed at restraining “persons unknown” from trespassing at the 1790s property. It said it received reports of unauthorised occupation of the premises last May.
On Wednesday, Gavin Mooney SC said his client is “well aware” it has to start tendering for the rejuvenation project, but the building will probably continue to be unoccupied by the council for “weeks or short months”.
The council was not seeking an order for the occupants to vacate the premises immediately. This approach is “hopefully not too oppressive to the occupants”, he said.
Mr Justice Mark Sanfey responded by saying the “occupants are trespassers” who have “no entitlement to be there”.
He asked whether the council had concerns about safety, to which Mr Mooney said his client was asking for a series of other orders that address issues of safety and building integrity.
He said Dublin City Council is “strictly speaking” entitled to seek an order for possession immediately but is prepared to give some “leeway” on time when there are sufficient orders to maintain the building.
Mr Mooney said the council did not want to “put them out in the depths of winter”. It does not want this approach to “become a precedent”, but there are particular circumstances here with the building having been empty for a period of time, he said.
Hearing Ms Cleaver was agreeable, the judge made orders restraining the alleged occupants from altering the three-story building, accessing its roof or using it as a base for a food service. He adjourned the case to early February 2025 but said either side can return to court before this if needed.
Earlier he heard from Ms Cleaver, who claimed she has a “possessory title” to the property. She told the court she lives at 55 Amiens Street, which she described as an “eight-bedroom, double-fronted terraced house in Dublin city”.
Ms Cleaver said her possessory title can be legally transferred to another person if she chooses to do so. She said the facts of this case mean it would be “wholly inappropriate and inequitable” for the court to order the occupants out of the property.
She cited article 40 of the Constitution, which says the dwelling of every citizen is inviolable, and submitted that the council was trying to evict 12 occupants from their “home”. Many of them have “protected characteristics” and are on council housing waiting lists, she said.
They would be homeless if evicted, while the property would presumably remain vacant, she said.
Ms Cleaver said the property has been allowed to fall into a state of disrepair but the occupants have made it stable, safe, warm and cosy.
Mr Justice Sanfey directed her to put her claims into a sworn document before the case returns next February.
