Emer Higgins (Dublin Mid West, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I thank the witnesses for being with us. What this is about from the Department's perspective is providing solutions to homeowners currently affected, many of whom we have heard from today, extending that right to people who might not even know they are affected and ensuring this never happens again. I have a point to make about each of those three goals. The first, on solutions to homeowners currently affected, relates to inflation which Ms Timmons touched on in her contribution. It is an issue I am keen to hear more about. As for the extension of the scheme, it has been extended to two other counties and I seek reassurance that the legislation is flexible to extend further, were we to find out anything beyond that. To alert the witnesses, we were informed in our previous session today that there is a quarry about which there are questions on how it is operating. What is the Department's response to that?

As for what Mr. Jordan spoke about, at this stage we are all familiar with the IS 465 process. One query that was raised by homeowners earlier in the session was whether that process would catch everything. Are we absolutely clear that the testing and sampling being carried out catches everything? I seek comfort in that regard. The Housing Agency goes to the local authority with its recommendations on building conditions assessment and the local authority delivers that news to the homeowners. Why is the authority the conduit? This is just a procedural question.