A challenge by some local residents to Dublin City Council’s decision allowing a former parish hall in the Liberties to be used as a hostel for homeless people has opened before the High Court.

The action concerns the former parish centre at Carman’s Hall, Francis Street, which opened before Christmas as emergency temporary accommodation for rough sleepers with a capacity of 65 beds.

If the residents win, the hostel, run by the Simon Community and the Salvation Army, may face closure.

The residents want the building, owned by the Catholic Archdiocese of Dublin, to be used as a community centre. They claim the hall was used as a community centre for many years before it was closed in 2013 over accessibility and fire safety concerns.

The case, against the council, has been taken by Carman’s Hall Community Interest Group, Michael Mallin House Residents Association and community worker Elizabeth O’Connor.

They allege the council’s decision of October 28th last authorising change of use and refurbishment of the building is unlawful and in breach of the planning laws and should be quashed.

Opposing the action, the council argues the hostel was opened to deal with the “humanitarian crisis” of rough sleepers in Dublin.

Serious homeless situation

Opening the case for the applicants, Declan McGrath SC, with Niall Handy BL, said they accepted there was a serious homeless situation, have every sympathy with those sleeping rough and had first-hand experience of homelessness.

There was much anger in the locality over the “underhand way” in which the council went about converting the hall into homeless accommodation, he said.

The council was in talks about using Carman’s Hall as accommodation for the homeless as far back as last May and a lease was signed in September, he said. The first local people and public representatives for the area knew about it was in late October when work had started on the building.

The council knew there would be public opposition to the facility, counsel said. His clients’ argued their area is “over saturated” with such facilities and services for the homeless and the failure to have a public consultation process in regard to change of use of the building rendered the council in material contravention of the Dublin city development plan.

The residents were also concerned about assurances from the council the building is to be used as a temporary facility because other such facilities “turned out to be anything but temporary”.

Voted unanimously

In its statement of opposition, the council, represented by James Connolly SC and Stephen Dodd BL, denies the claims and pleads the hall was offered to the council for use as accommodation for the homeless in May 2016.

In a letter read to the court, the local parish priest, Fr Martin Dolan, stated the building was never a “community centre” and was primarily used for Catholic members of the parish of Francis Street and any group whom they decided to share it with.

Fr Dolan stated he and the local parish council voted unanimously to lease the property to DCC with “the specific purpose of housing people who are forced to sleep rough on the streets of the city”. As a Catholic community, they felt “a moral imperative to fully support this project”.

The action was launched in early December, when the applicants got an interim stay preventing the hostel opening. Following another hearing before Christmas, the stay was lifted allowing the hostel to open.

The hearing continues on Thursday before Mr Justice Donald Binchy.