Séamus Healy (Tipperary South, Workers and Unemployed Action Group)

On behalf of those who tabled the motion and those who support the motion, I welcome residents from Pyrite Action who are present in the Visitors Gallery. They are living with this nightmare daily and they are entitled to know that the Government will take remedial action in this area. Light touch regulation in the financial sector was a disaster while light touch regulation of employment has led to widespread non-compliance. However, light touch building regulation has led to a nightmare for thousands of young families who purchased homes that are not fit to be lived in. Developers and speculators have been prioritised for years over individuals and families. There is no doubt there has been huge interplay between builders, speculators and developers and the main political parties for many a long year. It probably started in the old days of TACA, which is not today or yesterday. However, the many tribunals that have been held in recent years have shown publicly the huge influence and abuse of the interface between builders and speculators and politicians and the political system. That has led to us discussing the plight of young families living in nightmare scenarios. They not only have large mortgage repayments but many of them have mortgages for 30 and 40 years, which is a lifetime. They are in negative equity, but many thousands of them live in homes that are falling apart at the seams or that are firetraps, which is the case in Priory Hall and Belmayne.

Dealing with such a situation on a daily basis gives rise to great stress and serious heath risks for the families concerned. The Government must take the initiative in providing for remedial works in these areas. The developers and builders responsible for these various developments must be made to pay, but the Minister must take the initiative immediately. The situation has gone on far too long and it is time the Government took effective action by ensuring remedial works commence promptly and are completed in an efficient fashion. Above all, the Department must ensure it will recover the costs involved from those who are responsible for what happened during what can only be described as the disgraceful orgy by developers in recent years. These are the same people who prevented implementation of the Kenny report recommendations on the price of building land many years ago. Had they been implemented, the major difficulties we have encountered in recent years would at least have been alleviated, if not entirely prevented. Even at that stage, in the early 1970s, the people concerned were using their political influence to ensure the Kenny report was left to gather dust. I commend the motion to the House.

See this speech in context