Bills of up to €68,000 for repairs have landed on doorsteps of defective apartment blocks, reportedly bringing some homeowners to tears.

Fine Gael Senator Mary Seery Kearney has said that one Dublin complex has closed off its underground car park and rubbish facilities for safety reasons.

A government report published in the summer suggests there are around 100,000 defective Celtic Tiger era units in the country.

Fire safety issues are "in the main", but there are also water safety and structural issues.

Senator Seery Kearney told Newstalk that constituents are crying and losing sleep over the massive bills.

"Where do we raise that sort of money in the here and now?"

"I've had residents over the last few months on the phone crying down the phone to me", she said.

"I've gone out, I've met them, I've sat in their apartments with them as they've cried and gone, 'where do we raise that sort of money in the here and now?'."

"They're already in the pinch that is the crisis on energy, the crisis on cost of living."

'Frightening'

Since April of this year, in Senator Seery Kearney's locality of Dublin South Central, people have received bills ranging from €32,000 to €68,000, "with demands for payment in a very short time space".

"They had to pay in some instance first installments by June", she said.

"There have been big demands for November also."

More recently, she has been informed by residents of one complex that they were told they can no longer use the underground car park or store rubbish in the complex as it is unsafe.

"People are inclined to put off the work, rather than undertake the work in the here and now."

"That's naturally frightening for homeowners, living in apartments and worrying about what is going to happen."

"They can't move out because there's nowhere to move out to and they can't sell their apartments because they can't sell them once this big cloud is hanging over", she explained.

She added that, according to figures, 54% of the units have still not been repaired and made fully safe.

"With the prospect of the State supporting it, people are inclined to put off the work, rather than undertake the work in the here and now."

Main image shows a couple looking through a pile of bills. Picture by: Katharine Andriotis/Alamy