Michael McCarthy (Cork South West, Labour) | Oireachtas source

I wish to discuss the point made by Deputy Cowen. When someone is in dereliction of his or her duty - and quite clearly that was the case here - is there a provision for ministerial sanction? Can the Minister punish the authority for failing to apply standards or for not noticing defects? Does the buck stop with the Minister? Can he or she apply a sanction because someone else or some other body did not do its job?