Joe Higgins (Dublin West, Socialist Party)

This comprehensive motion is in the name of the five United Left Alliance Deputies and is supported by ten other Deputies in the Technical Group. It deals with the plight of tens of thousands of home owners who purchased homes in good faith and then, agonisingly, over a period saw these homes disintegrating around them as they were affected by pyrite or the revelation of major non-compliance with fire prevention regulations, meaning they had to live with the constant fire hazard. Meanwhile, the people in Priory Hall and some in Belmayne have been forced to move from their homes.

We move this motion in solidarity with those residents who are suffering the consequences of the problems which have emerged in the construction industry and home building in particular. We especially insist on immediate action from this Government as this State has a serious responsibility for the matter which developed. This nightmare has come about because of blatant non-compliance with mandatory building regulation, an utterly inadequate inspection regime to ensure compliance and inspection authorities which I see as blatantly negligent in some cases. In the pyrite case, there is no regulation demanding the testing of the relevant building materials. The Building Control Act 1990 and subsequent regulations relying on self-certification by builders, architects and engineers, bound only by an ambiguous concept of "substantial compliance", have proved utterly inadequate. When combined with low inspection rates, this has given rise to a disastrous legacy for many home owners.

Incredibly, in the early 1990s, the Department of the Environment, as it was known then, issued guidelines to building control authorities for an inspection level of only 12% to 15% of new developments. As the National Consumer Agency declares in a report produced in 2008 on building regulations and their enforcement, this means "in effect, up to 85% of newly constructed homes are not required to be inspected under the issued guidelines". In Britain, Northern Ireland, the United States and many other jurisdictions, a 100% inspection rate is demanded. Unfortunately, this is not accidental, as major developers and big builders wielded significant political influence in this State for many decades. To put it bluntly, land speculators and developers had the Fianna Fáil Party in their pockets, with a substantial influence over Fine Gael as well. These are the two major parties which have dominated the governance of this State since its foundation.

This was before the outright corruption in the planning process during the 1980s and early 1990s was unmasked in the Mahon tribunal. Just as the planning and rezoning process was distorted, so was the insistence on strict building regulations and adherence to those regulations. It was fatally compromised by the significant political clout wielded over governments by the construction industry, with innocent home owners the victims of the corrupting nexus between big capitalists in the building industry and some major political parties.

The scandal of the Priory Hall fire hazard has been well publicised but the suffering of those home owners continues. The position of another north-side residential development, Belmayne, is not as well known but it is also a major scandal. Last year, residents engaged acoustic engineers to deal with intolerable noise travel in the Belmayne residences, and they discovered serious non-compliance with fire regulations. The development in question is a four storey timber frame building, and the cavity walls and treatment of the areas between the ceilings of one apartment and those above is so inadequate that smoke and deadly carbon monoxide gas could spread rapidly through many adjoining apartments in the event of a fire.

What is so shocking about Belmayne is the attitude taken by the fire authority in Dublin City Council. Despite clear evidence of flagrant fire code violations, the authority gave the development the all-clear, even after having carried out an inspection on foot of a demand of some residents. It was not until this year, because of the pressure from residents and independent fire hazard expert Mr. Noel Manning, that it was admitted there are problems in Belmayne. Unfortunately, however, the remediation proposed is totally inadequate and the attitude of the local authority is scandalous.

I am alarmed and disappointed by the Minister's amendment to our motion. The attitude he is adopting is utterly deplorable. It is contemptuous of the huge suffering and problems of thousands of ordinary decent people. It lacks any semblance of compassion or human feeling for those who are suffering and those who are fearful of the condition in which they live. There is no solace whatsoever here for those people. The Minister more or less says to carry on, it is business as usual. There is no recognition of the moral responsibility of the State to play a key role in finding the solution. Just as in other scandals and tragedies such as child abuse of children in care, the State has an ongoing responsibility and a moral duty because it did not insist on the necessary compliance. It is incredible that the Minister intends to continue with the regime of only 10% to 15% of buildings being inspected.

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