Rat infestations, structural damage to homes, constant noise, dirt and dust are making the lives of residents living near the site of the new National Children's Hospital a misery.
Angry householders living near St James's are planning a demonstration at the gates of the city centre hospital on Saturday to protest against the controversial build of what they say is a "not-fit-for-purpose hospital".
Frustrated locals say they are now sick of the "outrageous actions" of the National Paediatric Hospital Development Board and construction company BAM for "intruding into the lives of local residents over the past three years”.
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The demonstration is being organised by the Ceannt Fort Residents Association and spokesman Joe McPartlin slammed the location of the new hospital, the cost of which has already ballooned from 600 million to €1.7 billion.
The Trinity College professor told Dublin Live: "We are protesting against the dirt, dust, noise, rat infestation, out-of-hours-working, air-pollution, traffic congestion and particularly the damage to houses they have caused.
"We shall continue to protest or else BAM and its subcontractors will continue to disrupt our lives with impunity until the Paediatric and Maternity Hospitals at St James are completed around 2030.
"Locating the new hospitals at the St James site has been shown to be a huge imposition not only on the local community but on the tax-payer, the cost making it the most expensive hospital on Earth.
"Yet this not-fit-for-purpose hospital is been foisted on the local communities around St James causing great distress and disruption.
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"This is a peaceful, passive picket with no obstruction to traffic or pedestrians. We encourage volunteers to act with utmost safety and care."
McPartlin expressed his outrage at Dublin City Council, saying: "We're disgusted at [DCC], we've received absolutely no support from them.
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"They are supposed to protect the citizens and they haven't been doing that. For example, we took an injunction against BAM, which we won, but there was not one councillor present to express support with us."
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The protest will take place from 11am until 2pm this Saturday, April 6 at the hospital's entrances at James Street and Rialto.
