Aengus Ó Snodaigh (Dublin South Central, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

She has just kicked it to touch until such time as Dublin City Council has full charge of Dublin Docklands Development Authority. Why does the Government not take the initiative? This case is but one in the media at present. There are several. I do not want to repeat the long drawn-out saga concerning Priory Hall or the many other developments, not all of which had fire safety problems but which were substandard in other ways. Does the Tánaiste agree that there is a need for legislation to ensure surveyors, architects, planners and, in particular, developers can be held to account over their failures? What is the role of HomeBond? Has the Tánaiste any intention of replacing it? Does she intend to underpin future builds with something similar? Can she ensure that every single build in the country, not just in this city, will comply fully with fire regulations? The Tánaiste mentioned Dublin City Council but this is not just a Dublin City Council problem. That is the council identified today by me but some of the affected units are in County Meath and in Newbridge. Will the Government commit to ensuring local authorities have the funding to employ additional planning enforcers and inspectors so they can go on-site at various stages during a build to ensure shortcuts are not taken?

Can the Tánaiste ensure money is set aside for residents, such as the woman who wrote to me who has bought an affordable home in the complex under discussion? She said she bought it in good faith in 2008 under the affordable housing schemes under the Dublin Docklands Development Authority. She claims she is caught up in a mess left by Bernard McNamara, who left the building an unsafe fire-trap. She now has to pay €10,000 for his mistakes. In fact, it may be more. According to the woman, she does not have the money and will not be paying it. She states the Department of the Environment, Community and Local Government failed to deliver a correctly specified building because of the failures of its building control legislation and monitoring. The key is to ensure this does not happen in the future. There is a need to deliver immediately for the people living in the building, so they will have peace of mind if they are to be forced to continue to live in a home that is unsuitable and dangerous.

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