Paudie Coffey (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I welcome Deputy Cowen's submission to the committee. There is much merit in what he proposes in the Bill. I believe we are all agreed there is too much vacant stock, be it commercial or residential, in our towns, cities and villages. Given the fact that the houses are already serviced, it makes sense to try to bring a renewed focus on how to bring them back into use. A Bill such as this is very helpful not only to focus policymakers' minds, but to also put the issue on the table for the Department officials and the local authorities.

In the preparation of the Bill, did Deputy Cowen have any consultation with, for example, local authority management such as the County and City Management Association or councillor representative groups? There could be learnings there that could strengthen the Bill. Perhaps Deputy Cowen could clarify that point.

I take on board the Deputy's assurances on compliance, standards and building regulations. That aspect could possibly be strengthened further by regulation if the Bill proceeds. I have no doubt that the Deputy does not propose to reduce compliance standards, which I welcome.

On local authority inspections, I agree that we need to increase resources and increase the rate of local authority independent inspections of buildings to ensure that they are up to standard. Ireland's record is quite poor in this regard so the results we have seen in developments such as Priory Hall and other instances where buildings have not been up to standard are not a surprise. This Bill would certainly be a step in the right direction in that respect, starting with refurbishments. I welcome any improvements in that area. It will be interesting to hear the view of the Department officials on this later. If Deputy Cowen would like to comment further about this, I would welcome it.

The idea behind the Bill is a one-stop-shop, which we can understand. Would Deputy Cowen envisage it as just the co-ordination of existing departments within a local authority or would it be a case of professional people working as engineers, planners and fire safety officers within local authorities being seconded to the Department so that it is fully outfitted? How will it work on the ground practically? Obviously there will be resource issues. Would it be a service dedicated to refurbishment? I would like an understanding around it, for example, would there be flexibility within the local authority to manage it as it sees fit? Does Deputy Cowen understand where I am coming from? Will it be a dedicated service with full professional people or will it be somebody within a local authority who has the authority to call these people in from the various departments? I am trying see how the process would function practically.

Will there be some type of reporting system to the councillors, as the elected members, on the applications that go through this proposed unit? Would there be, for example, a monthly report on the success rate or otherwise provided to the members, similar to the housing report?