Pádraig Mac Lochlainn (Donegal, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I ask that the witnesses be brief in their responses to my first question, as I am conscious of the need for the homeowners – the victims – in particular to have their say about the issues with the scheme. I thank Mr. Owens and Mr. Keogh for their submission. I am not surprised, but I am alarmed by their frank outlining of how their members were struggling to get insurance and the limitations of the insurance they were getting. Clearly, the insurance industry does not have confidence in IS 465. The scheme, which the Government says involves billions of euro in taxpayers’ money, is based on a standard that is not fit for purpose. Mr. Owens made that clear when he said that some engineers – it is most of the engineers I interact with – did not believe the standard was fit for purpose. Will he elaborate on his concerns as a professional engineer about the standard and why we are continuing to insist that homeowners adhere to it when it is not fit for purpose?