Pat Casey (Wicklow, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I thank the witnesses for their presentations. As the debate progresses, we begin to see the impact this is having on human beings and hear their stories. The witnesses have highlighted the apartment sector but we know it goes way beyond that. Sometimes we think of urban areas. It goes beyond those too, down to one-off rural houses, the self-builds. A good friend of mine had no recourse because the damp course was put in the right place. He lost the whole house and had to start again just because there was not enough oversight of the building.

I thank the witnesses for their stories. I work in the hospitality industry and we are probably more aware of the importance of understanding how quickly a fire can spread in an apartment building and making sure that is dealt with. Even having a practical, operational, addressable fire alarm system and ensuring that is functioning and working is important. That has helped me in my industry and building because straightaway I will know where a fire is and go and put it out. If there is no proper, functioning, working, addressable alarm system, the building will be lost. If there is a place where the fire can spread, it escalates quickly.

I thank the witnesses for coming today not to just complain but to propose practical solutions. They mentioned low interest loans, tax breaks and the local authorities' home improvement loan scheme. Why do we always reinvent the wheel when there is a mechanism that could be used for something like this? Their presence today has brought another level of awareness to this issue. One of the witnesses was here previously to discuss apartment owners and the sinking fund. I was part of the committee that prepared a report on that.

The key point in that report is that, even today, the assigned certification process is not fit for purpose because the developer is paying the assigned certifier. Until we get complete and total independence from that system, I honestly believe we will be wasting our time and will see the same issues cropping up time and again. The argument that it will be too costly to do otherwise is a red herring. It is not factual because the same certification can be done by an independent inspector at the same cost. It just takes a change in mindset. I know the witnesses could not put a value on it today but my party colleagues and I are here to do whatever we can. We understand the depth and breadth of the issue and will support the witnesses in any way we can. I thank them for presenting the human side of this and keeping it to the forefront and in the public eye. It is very important that it is kept there.