Three residents yesterday were awarded £4,000 each because dust from a construction site blew into their homes.
Ms Sandra Hyland, Ms Philomena Bissett and Mr John Curley won their claim for compensation from Alcove Properties and Fajon Construction Ltd arising out of the development of a huge office/apartment block across the road from them in Charlemont Street, Dublin.
Judge Sean MacBride said the developers were "grossly negligent" in the way in which they dealt with the problem.
The builders claimed adequate steps were taken to minimise dirt and dust, including "dampening-down" procedures, cleaning of the street outside and cleaning of lorries leaving the site.
They claimed Dublin Corporation was carrying out a number of works on Charlemont Street during the period of construction and dust could have come from these.
Dublin District Court heard that work began in autumn of 1998, with the demolition of old buildings on the two-acre site. Around 2,500 lorry-loads of earth and rubble were removed.
Dust blew from the site across the road into residents' homes, leaving a film of dust on their food, furniture and fittings. The noise from drilling works was also a problem and the builders sometimes breached the 6 p.m. curfew placed on them by the planning permission, the residents claimed.
They complained through their community association secretary, Ms Susan Byrne, who said when she approached the site foreman, his response was "blank". Dublin Corporation also did nothing to force the builders to keep the dust and dirt down, she said.
Site manager Mr Noel Bransfield told the court "dampening down" was constantly carried out during the summer months to keep dust levels down. A contractor was employed on 130 occasions to clean the road outside and a man with a brush also regularly cleaned the road.
He denied there would have been less dust had a mesh screen been erected on the street side of the site. He admitted he had never gone over to the residents' homes to see the dust problem for himself, although he had been made aware of their complaints.
Judge MacBride said the builders had "utterly ignored" the residents' complaints. He did not accept that dust control measures were adequate or that the street was cleaned regularly. He awarded each plaintiff £3,000 general damages plus £1,000 exemplary damages. He also ordered the defendants to pay costs.
Our report on Thursday stated that proceedings which were dismissed against Dublin Corporation and the demolition contractor were on foot of an action by the residents. They were in fact joined as co-defendants on an application from the developers.