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

Martina Hegarty, who gave testimony, lives in a terrace of three. Her end house and the other end house are both in the scheme but the middle house is not eligible for the scheme because the house is not affected by pyrite. That is obviously a very precarious position because there will be two new houses, given the end houses are going to be demolished and rebuilt, that are going to rest on a property that will not be eligible even under the new scheme, as I understand it.

I have a couple of specific technical questions. With respect to social housing and local authorities, I would like to have an update on the pilot. My question also relates to the nature of the testing under the scheme. For example, if a local authority or an approved housing body has a social housing scheme of 20 or 30 units, under the terms of the pilot, will every individual unit have to be surveyed and will funding be allocated on the basis of individual surveys? What is the plan? That is my first question.

The second question is for Mr. Ó Coigligh because I think there might have been some confusion between him and my colleague, Deputy Conway-Walsh. Her question was not why the SCSI was asked to do the job because it is most qualified. The terms of reference were decided by the Department and the SCSI made it very clear that it had some issues. I do not see in the statutory instrument where the 2008 building regulations requirement is. From memory, it is not in the legislation and it is not in the statutory instrument. I know that Mr. Ó Coigligh knows this stuff inside out. I would just like some guidance so everybody is clear on the legal basis of that 2008 building regulations requirement and where it sits in the legislation.

Third, because a lot of people have to do this work themselves, there is a need for written guidance on SR 325, which is to do with the design of masonry structures. It is not something that I understand at all but I am sure Mr. Ó Coigligh has a good understanding of it, although it is very long and complicated. Has that guidance been issued or will it be issued?

John McLaughlin has been referred to a couple of times today in his absence. He described a scenario where if somebody applies to the scheme and some of the paperwork is not fully in order, rather than being asked to submit accurate paperwork, they will be refused and forced to appeal. Is that actually the case? That is the kind of simple thing that can surely be fixed. If I put in a social housing needs assessment application today and I forget a piece of documentation, I am not refused, although my application might go back to the bottom of the pile and I have to resubmit. Can Mr. Ó Coigligh clarify that?

With regard to Clare, Limerick, Sligo and other counties that hope to enter, Dr. Cleary highlighted two significant issues. One is whether there are qualified professionals to do some of the work. The second point is that at least Donegal and Mayo have been working with the existing scheme and they have built up some expertise. What is the Department going to do to ensure the local authorities in the two new counties that have entered already and the other counties that may enter are brought up to speed and given additional resources? This is particularly because, as Mr. Kelly rightly points out, it is one thing getting sanction for staff, but it is another thing getting those staff recruited on the ground. I would like to hear a little about the staffing supports for the new entrant counties. Those are my five questions.