The people of Marino and Fairview are "hopping mad" and are seeking an apology from Dublin City Council for the damage done to their homes during the construction of the Dublin Port Tunnel, according to Independent TD, Mr Finian McGrath.
Mr McGrath, who represents Dublin North-Central, said he was receiving daily complaints from residents who reported cracks in ceilings, floors and walls of their houses.
Last week, the tunnel-boring machine completed its journey of more than 2 km, from Whitehall to Fairview. In October, the machine will bore a second tunnel back to Whitehall to facilitate traffic travelling in the other direction.
The tunnel is due to open to traffic in mid-2005.
Mr McGrath said local residents were "living in dread" of the return journey. He had an incident log of 59 complaints that had already been inspected by the authorities.
The first complaint was on February 6th in Grace Park Road, with the last complaint on June 10th in Merville Avenue.
Almost half of the complaints came from Annadale Drive and Annadale Crescent, near Griffith Avenue. Internal and external cracks were reported, as well as cracks in ceramic kitchen tiles and garden walls.
A Swords Road resident reported cracks to double glazing, while leaking roof tiles were reported in Merville Avenue.
Another Merville Avenue resident claimed that doors would not close, following vibrations caused by the tunnel boring machine.
Mr McGrath said Dublin City Council had never apologised to residents for the damage and disruption caused.
He said the compensation offered was "miserly".
However, these criticisms were rejected by Mr Tim Brick, deputy city engineer in charge of this project.
He said Dublin City Council had acknowledged the co-operation of local residents on numerous occasions.
It would be wonderful if such a project could be completed without disrupting anyone, he said, but that just was not possible.
Dublin City Council had a "property guarantee" in place, so if any properties were damaged by the work, they would be repaired.
Dublin City Council had no control over the level of payment for people whose ground underneath their homes was acquired for the tunnel, Mr Brick said.
The compensation for the compulsory purchase of this ground ranged from €317 to a maximum of €6,000.
