Fergus O'Dowd (Louth, Fine Gael)

It is unacceptable for the Minister of State to agree with the amendment while refusing to accept it. He accepts, for example, that the building control authority could incur substantial costs in policing and enforcing the regulations. In theory, these costs could run into hundreds of thousands or even millions of euro if the authority is required to employ experts or inspect a cross-section of a building. The Minister of State's point appears to be that the amendment's weakness lies in the failure to use the words "to collect". Will he explain the problem regarding collection? If the Bill passes, I assume the building control authority will have a right to effect the recovery of costs in the courts.

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