A 75-year-old man was released from Garda custody after he agreed before the High Court not to deny access nor impede any works being carried out at the charitable organisation-owned apartment he resides at.
Patrick Murtagh was arrested and brought to Mountjoy Garda station in Dublin on Tuesday morning over his failure to comply with a court order requiring him to allow the apartment to be inspected and assessed for repairs, and for the removal of waste and detritus.
He was released from custody after he gave a sworn undertaking not to interfere with works being carried out on the premises, and agreed that he would stay at a B&B that had been arranged for him until those works have been completed.
The order was sought by the Cabhrú Housing Association, formerly the Catholic Housing Aid Society, which owns the apartment at Ignatius Nordell House, Greenville Street, Dublin 1 where Mr Murtagh has lived for several years.
The association wants to assess the apartment to see what repairs need to be carried out.
Cabhrú claimed that the order was required because of health and safety concerns about the property. It said that despite securing court orders earlier this month requiring Mr Murtagh to grant it access to the premises, he had refused to comply with those directions.
The court heard that there had been discussions in recent days with Mr Murtagh about access.
When workers came to inspect the premises on Monday morning, he again refused them access to the premises.
Mr Murtagh was then arrested and brought before Ms Justice Siobhán Stack by gardaí during Tuesday’s vacation sitting of the High Court.
Solicitor Ronan Killeen for the charity said that it while it had sought an order seeking his attachment and committal to prison, Cabhrú did not want to see Mr Murtagh jailed. The proceedings were brought as a last resort.
Representing himself, Mr Murtagh told the court that while he accepted that he had accumulated material in the apartment, he had not granted access due to what he said was the intimidatory and threatening legal language used in letters to him by the charity.
He said he had previously been brought to court over rent arrears owed to the charity.
That issue, he said, had been sorted.
He said when he subsequently got letters looking for access, he was afraid that he would get the blame for anything that was broken in the apartment.
He did accept that items in the premises, including the boiler, needed to be serviced or repaired.
He said he was prepared to stay at the B&B that had been arranged for him by the charity.
He said he had “no choice” other than to comply with the court order and would not interfere with the works, including the cleaning of the premise, and inspection at the apartment.
He said he had not been properly treated by the charity and said that he may not return to the apartment.
The judge accepted the sworn undertaking and urged Mr Murtagh not to make any rash decisions regarding his residency at Nordell House. She also suggested he talk to other bodies, including other housing charities before making any final decision to return.
The judge, following a request from Mr Murtagh, told the defendant not to dispose of anything of value in the apartment belonging to the defendant if it could be retained.
The court had heard that the contents and material in the apartment may have to be disposed of as it is considered to be “contaminated”.
Previously, the court had heard of the charity’s serious concerns for the safety and welfare of some of its elderly tenants at Nordell House because of a build-up of rubbish and food waste, and a potential rodent infestation in the apartment Mr Murtagh resides at.
Mr Murtagh, it claimed, had refused access to gardaí to check the risk and state of his apartment.
Mr Murtagh, it was alleged, continued to ignore court orders directing him to grant the association’s staff and gardaí access for inspection purposes, repairs, and removal of waste.
The registered charity had been providing housing for Dublin citizens over 70 for more than 50 years and had 179 accommodation units throughout the city.
It claimed that Mr Murtagh, since taking up residence in Ignatius Nordell House in May 2015, had rejected a HSE cleaning and care package after refusing access to helpers and cleaners.