Pat Casey (Wicklow, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I thank Mr. Hynes for his contribution. We all have the same overall objective. Technical guidance documents would assist the fire officer to deal with the certification of applications. It comes back to the fundamental issue of independent inspection and assigning an independent inspector. It should be throughout the whole construction period. We sometimes question whether we should review the opt-out clause in inspections. Every building should be independently inspected.

I will ask Mr. Hynes a tricky enough question. What percentage of buildings does each local authority independently inspect? I do not think it is happening. I think if they are reaching 15%, that is all they are doing. That is why the thrust of everything we are doing here is moving towards independent inspection that is controlled by the local authority, either through a framework agreement or direct employment. Most of the cost would be borne by the developer who has to pay for the service himself. He is employing his assigned certifier but we believe the local authority should assign an independent inspector and the developer should pay that fee to the local authority, not to the assessor.