Residents at the Rockville Drive estate in south Dublin received a letter from Dun Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council to communicate that building works to erect four temporary housing units were to commence immediately.
Some residents immediately took action and staged a blockade to prevent machinery from moving into the site. A peaceful stand-off ensued, with residents using their private vehicles to keep JCB machines out.
The housing units were destined to become the temporary accommodation for survivors of the devastating Carrickmines blaze that claimed 10 lives last Saturday.
Minister for the Environment Alan Kelly released a statement to say: “To be frank, I would like the people behaving that way to reflect on that. The nation is heartbroken about what happened last weekend.”
Referring to the actual blockade, he said “given what that family has gone through, is very disturbing and shameful”.