Fergus O'Dowd (Louth, Fine Gael)

I assure Deputies Broughan and Kenny that I take what they have said very seriously. I will bring their remarks to the attention of the Minister of State, Deputy Penrose. He will be deeply concerned about the manner in which things have been done in this estate. As I indicated earlier, the remediation of defects of this kind is a matter to be dealt with by the parties concerned - the owner of the building in question, the relevant developer and the builder's insurer - in line with any contractual arrangements. It is appropriate that Dublin City Council be allowed to deal with the prosecution of alleged non-compliance with planning permission, fire safety regulations and building regulations in line with the standard arrangements for the discharge of its statutory functions. Since he took up office, the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government has clearly signalled that consumer protection in the area of quality construction of new dwellings is a priority matter. He has taken a number of steps to strengthen the situation. Mandatory certificates of compliance for builders and designers of buildings, demonstrating that the statutory requirements of the building regulations have been met, have been introduced. Provision has been made for more efficient pooling of building control staff and resources across the local authority sector to ensure more effective and meaningful oversight of building activity. Standardised approaches and common protocols have been put in place to ensure nationwide consistency in the administration of building control functions. There also have been measures relating to the support and further development of building control functions nationwide. The Minister is determined to strengthen the building control system to ensure problems like those that have arisen at Priory Hall do not visit home owners again.

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