Sinn Féin TD for Dublin South West Seán Crowe has criticised South Dublin County Council of being slow when it comes to the maintenance and preservation of our protected structures.

Teachta Crowe’s comments come after a fire occurred at Newbrook House in recent days, a protected structure that SDCC had said they were unaware as to the current situation of only four weeks ago.

Teachta Crowe said:

“Last weekend, there was a fire at Newbrook House, a Georgian house and protected structure in Rathfarnham. Concerns had been raised for several years about the integrity of the building and the urgent need to prevent it from falling into complete ruin. The house dates back over two centuries and there is a duty of care to see that such history is not lost through negligence and carelessness.

“In August, I wrote to South Dublin County Council asking what measures, if any, SDCC were taking to preserve and maintaining the integrity of the structure and its facade.

“The response I received was that SDCC was ‘unaware of the current situation at the former Merchant Meades site’. And now there has been a fire that has gutted this irreplaceable piece of our heritage.

“This is symptomatic of how many Local Authorities across the State neglect our built heritage and protected structures. I am calling on SDCC, in the light of this fire, to conduct an immediate audit of all such structures in their area and ascertain what measures need to be taken to prevent further destruction and loss of history.

“In the first instance however, SDCC needs to secure this site to both ensure it does not pose a danger to the public and preserve what is left of this important building.”