Rogue property developer Tom McFeely has broken his silence on the Priory Hall scandal in a BBC documentary.
Speaking on '
Spotlight', which aired on BBC Northern Ireland last night, McFeely refuted claims that the Priory Hall development was "shoddy", saying that there was "documentation certifying everything". He said that he disagreed with the decision to close the Dublin residential building, remaining adamant that "this has got more to do with politics than anything else".
"I do not believe that Priory Hall should have been evacuated. It's not the fire trap they said it was. There was no problems there that couldn't have been rectified," said McFeely.
One of the most tragic results of the evacuation of the 240 residents of Priory Hall was the death of father-of-two Fiachra Daly, whose partner Stephanie Meehan said the stress of their mounting debt led the 37-year-old to take his own life.
However, when asked if he apologised for the death, McFeely said he held no responsibility for Mr Daly's suicide.
"We're getting to the level of the gutter media now again. What would I apologise for? I don't think it was a shoddy building, you see. I don't think it's any different that most of the other buildings in Dublin," he said.
"Why did everyone else not commit suicide in Priory Hall? What was the difference there, you know? I mean we are getting into something here and we are arguing about something that is very, very emotional and very stressful on his family that is left behind and it shouldn't be. I am not to blame for his suicide."
