Mr. Paul Forde:

I would love to see the scheme start and I would love to get at it. I said earlier, which I stand by, that if my company is involved, we will check the foundations. If there is a problem, I believe it will be sorted. That is my professional opinion and it is my understanding of how the Housing Agency is looking at this scheme. I was involved, very briefly, at the start of pyrite remediation. There were terrible fears all across north County Dublin. Once houses started being remediated, confidence started coming in the scheme. That it is not being allowed to move forward is compounding people's worries. The NSAI must be encouraged to get to the end of the science. I am an engineer; I am not going to ignore something. The blocks will be tested. This is not guesswork. My understanding of the scheme is that the Housing Agency-appointed engineer will be paid by the Housing Agency. I think in the previous scheme, the homeowner funded the engineers, even if it cost €18,000 - I would not have minded being one of those. My understanding now is that the homeowner will fund the initial building report, which is estimated to be €500 or €600. The heavy lifting will be done by the Housing Agency-appointed engineer, from a panel of engineers. That cost has transferred. As a professional engineer, if my company is involved, we will check foundations.