There are almost certainly fire safety issues in the East Wall refugee centre that a "blind eye" is being turned to, a Dublin Fire Brigade source has said.
The contentious centre that is housing as many as 360 International Protection applicants has been at the centre of an ongoing protest for months. The East Wall Committee have been calling for the centre to be shut down because they say the building is unsuitable.
Dublin Live previously revealed that the building does not have a Fire Safety Certificate. A response from a Dublin City Council area manager showed an application had been made for the certificate that shows the DFB have approved the building's safety.
Read more: East Wall refugee centre has no fire safety certificate
Now, a senior DFB source has told Dublin Live they "can almost guarantee" there are issues with the building as an inspection usually takes a couple of weeks to be completed. The former ESB office block has been used to house migrants since December last year.
The Department of Integration, which is responsible for housing refugees, has not responded to email and phone queries about the safety of the building from Dublin Live since Friday last week. The DFB source said: "Because it is an emergency situation, they are using that as cover and their answer will be that [the fire cert] is pending.
"Whether it is legal or not I don't know but they are covered because it is an emergency situation. They are using that as an excuse.
"There are hundreds if not thousands of buildings in Dublin that they know there are defects in so it is just another one to add to the list.
"I would almost guarantee that there are problems that they don't want to be known. They are turning a blind eye to it."
He added: "From past experiences, there are problems that they are turning a blind eye to. That's the real reason the inspection hasn't gone ahead because what they are hoping to do is get the refugees out of there before the flaws are exposed.
"That would be my reading of the situation," he added. A resident of the complex previously told Dublin Live, "If there is a fire, all of us will die".
In response to a query from Independent Councillor Nial Ring, a DCC executive said the Dublin Fire Brigade were assessing the application for the Fire Safety Certificate "for the revised use of this building".
They said: "An application for a Fire Safety Certificate has been made through the Building Control Management Systems [the body responsible for issuing Fire Safety Certificates] for the revised use of this building. DFB are currently assessing this application and are engaging with the technical advisor in this regard."
The response added that a change of use planning permission is not required in a building being used to house refugees on behalf of the Minister for Children Roderic O'Gorman.
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