Trevor Sargent (Dublin North, Green Party)

In recent weeks quite a number of people have visited my clinics to complain about the fact that they are living in houses built to a standard that leaves them quite cold and having to use a lot of gas, electric and open fires. I said I would raise the question with the Taoiseach and I have many examples.

A man in Balbriggan occupies one of eight apartments, all of which use whatever heating can be found because it is constantly cold there. Residents from Ballymun tell me they have moved into brand new houses which are not just cold but damp with mould growing on the walls. Their children are getting sick and the dwellings are generally badly built.

Given the number of people waking up to cold houses, especially in this weather, will the Taoiseach take action on the failure to meet building standards? Last Sunday's edition of The Sunday Tribune stated 98% of houses built in this country fail to meet the Government's minimum standards on insulation and heat loss. One wonders whether the Fianna Fáil tent at the Galway races is better insulated than some of these houses.

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