Richard O'Donoghue (Limerick County, Independent)
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That to me is absolutely disgraceful. It is one thing they could actually go along with. It is also very easy to police because an invoice could still be issued including the VAT and then it would go back to Revenue with a zero VAT rating on it for people who have pyrite or mica in their houses. It could very easily be looked at and very easily managed. It would be transparent across the board if anyone was trying to manipulate the figures. The square footage would be there and any quantity surveyor would tell if somebody had been trying to up their the square footage. The material costs and everything would be done out on spreadsheets to show what square footage was being charged. The square footage can be worked out and the VAT can be easily seen. It is one simple measure by which we could make sure that we can get the 100% redress.

Mr. Houton said that different areas have different prices. Taking into account the timelines, this issue could be extended into the fact that the contractors are just not there. There are five contractors in my area with 30 years' experience who have now pulled out of the building because they say they can no longer afford to build.

That is going to be another phase we and the Government must take into account.