Anthony Lawlor (Kildare North, Fine Gael)

I welcome the opportunity to speak on this issue. I have sympathy with those who have suffered as a result of poor and shoddy construction, the existence of pyrite in their houses, poor developments and unfinished estates. Such people bought their houses in good faith and believed that what they were buying from a developer or auctioneer was what was on the brochure. They believed they were buying into their future, and not the problems they are experiencing now.

Deputy Wallace spoke last night about a lack of inspections that led to a deterioration in work standards. A recommendation was made that 10% of building sites be inspected, but in fact 23% of sites were inspected. When it comes to the deterioration in work standards, one has to look at the quality in craftsmanship involved in the construction of these houses. One day a fella can hammer a nail in straight, the second day he is a carpenter, the third day he is a builder and the fourth day he is a developer. Anyone in the business at all would know that is not the way to create good workmanship. In the past, people had to spend a number of years in apprenticeships learning the trade and how to deal with plumbing, electrics and carpentry. That skill was lost because developers and builders wanted to get something up as quickly as possible so they could maximise their profit. That is what it was all about. Unfortunately, those who suffered as a result were the ordinary people who came along and bought their house in good faith. We ended up making Mr. O'Reilly from "Faulty Towers" look like a genuine builder.

Who is responsible for this? The problem is that we have lost trust in developers and builders. Members criticise developers and builders every day in the House, yet there are genuine guys out there who are still building houses and developing land. These guys have been around for many years. We should praise them and put them up as examples of how to develop estates and build houses.

This Bill does not penalise poor and shoddy development enough. There are only small fines involved when compared to the price of housing. People will have problems in their own houses and estates, whether due to pyrite, faulty fire certificates, poor plumbing or poor electrics. However, the penalties to be inflicted on these fellas who can just about hammer a nail in straight will be minimal. We have to look at that to make sure the penalties deter this kind of shoddy work in future.

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