Barry Cowen (Offaly, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

The Senator makes the same point Senator Coffey made earlier, which is the potential is there for such a system or mechanism within local authorities to be proactive and even to make recommendations through the Department as to how to improve the criteria, for example, regarding the repair-and-lease scheme and for the Government ultimately to take on board such recommendations in order to make it more practicably possible for its intention to be realised. The point is well made. As I said in response to Deputy Barry earlier, we have provided in the Bill, initially at least, for assigned certifiers or persons to be of relevant expertise but independent of the builder or landlord or both, and for an employee initially of the local authority to make an independent authoritative assessment of compliance with the regulations and technical guidelines we hope would ensue on foot of it. I am open to that assigned person or certifier being within the local authority and having similar relevant qualifications and capabilities to those from the private sector. This also could act as a revenue source of income for local authorities to be used and ring-fenced within the housing income for further dispersal and usage by local authorities thereafter. I will provide Senator Murnane O'Connor with specific details regarding the section as it is composed and proposed within this Bill. Section 11 of the Building Control Act gives the meaning to an "authorised person". As I said, I am here with my colleagues, who have a shared will to address many aspects of housing policy of which this is only one. We want to pool together those resources and those minds to improve the Bill and make it more appropriate to the needs of the market and local authorities but ultimately to target those people who do not have homes at present in a way that allows these properties to come into use much more quickly and much more cost-efficiently while improving the quality of certification regarding their suitability and compatibility with guidelines and regulations surrounding health and safety, fire certification, disability, conservation and the planning realm, as adjudicated by the planning member of the panel that initially meets the proposers.