Oireachtas Joint and Select Committees

Thursday, 10 March 2022

Select Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government

Regulation of Providers of Building Works Bill 2022: Committee Stage (Resumed)

Photo of Eoin Ó BroinEoin Ó Broin (Dublin Mid West, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

There are no fines that could be issued by the board and any level of fine would have to go to a prosecution. Does the Minister of State mind me asking why? This is an issue we often have. If one considers the Residential Tenancies Board, for example, that board would certainly not issue fines of €500,000. Certainly when one is getting to that level of fine, there is an argument for a court prosecution. The Residential Tenancies Board can, however, impose fines of up to €20,000 on foot of a determination approved by the board. It does not require any recourse to the courts. There is a reason I say this. It relates to my amendment, which I will come to shortly after we have dealt with this one. Clearly there is a view, and the current Attorney General is on record as being of this view, that administrative justice is disliked. Those who hold this view believe that any level of fine should always go to the courts. Surely there should be some provision for a level of fine that can be issued by the board, which would then allow for certain levels of sanctions to progress much more quickly. Clearly, the person against whom that sanction is imposed could then decide to appeal it to the court. If all fines have to require a level of prosecution, does this not create an unnecessary delay, particularly for low to mid-level orders of fines or sanctions rather than for the very high level the Minister of State has just outlined?

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