The Co Kildare hotel where a ceiling collapsed last Friday night should be closed down pending an investigation of its compliance with the planning laws, An Taisce said yesterday.
Fourteen wedding guests and staff at the Setanta House Hotel in Celbridge were treated in hospital for their injuries after part of the suspended ceiling of its Ashling Suite collapsed. The hotel functions manager broke a hip in the incident.
Though the Ashling Suite had planning permission, Kildare County Council confirmed yesterday that the hotel has been the subject of complaints about unauthorised development being carried out on the site.
An Taisce said this raised concern that the hotel may also have been constructed in breach of the standards required under the 1990 Building Control Act, which governs a range of construction and fire safety issues.
The county council granted planning permission to Mr Seán McElvaney, in December 2000, for development and extensions to the hotel. It later emerged that these works were carried out in breach of the conditions.
After repeated enforcement complaints - by local residents and An Taisce - the county council twice refused Mr McElvaney permission for retention of the unauthorised development, in October 2002 and again last July.
Enforcement complaints to the council "have resulted in continued inaction by the authority, which has allowed continued trading while the unauthorised structures and alterations remain in place," An Taisce said.
A spokesman said it was particularly concerned that uncompleted structures were retained at the rear of the building - in breach of planning permission conditions - while still being used as trading parts of the hotel.
He said the case highlights the repeated failure of local authorities and, in particular, Kildare County Council, to take adequate action on unauthorised development, despite representations from An Taisce and others.
"In a communication of July 27th last, following the most recent refusal, Kildare County Council stated that the matter was with its solicitors. This is a standard excuse by local authorities to justify inaction and prevarication."
But the Kildare county secretary, Mr Charlie Talbot, said an enforcement notice was served on the hotel last February - specifying that demolition work was to commence within 30 days on the disputed part of the development. "We were notified subsequently by the architects that a new proposal was going to be submitted. This resulted in an application to partly retain and partly demolish the disputed elements, for which we refused permission in July."
After the case had been referred to its solicitors for legal action, Mr Talbot said the council was informed two weeks ago that demolition work was in hand. However, he could not confirm this as the site had not been inspected.
An Taisce is requesting a full investigation of last Friday's incident, and said action must be taken to ensure that trading ceases in all parts of the building that were in breach of the 2000 Planning Act and the 1990 Building Control Act.
Attempts yesterday to contact the Setanta House Hotel's proprietor, Mr McElvaney, were unsuccessful.
