Lucinda Creighton (Dublin South East, Renua Ireland) | Oireachtas source

My suggestion is very clear. The receiver and the Dublin Docklands Development Authority, which is a State entity, which the Government in its wisdom for populist reasons has chosen to disband - I oppose that completely but I suppose that is a discussion for next week - owns the common areas in this building. It was the partner in the PPP that developed this site. It is responsible in the absence of any legal responsibility falling on the developer because the developer went for one-year bankruptcy in the UK and is not now hiding behind the legal personality of his former company. It is the responsibility of the Minister who is in charge of the Dublin Docklands Development Authority to ensure that the authority upholds its responsibility. It is about to be subsumed into Dublin City Council. We have the bizarre situation where the Dublin Fire Brigade, which is threatening the notice of enforcement, is another arm of Dublin City Council, and which the DDDA is about to become.

The fact that it is absolving itself and washing its hands is farcical. Residents have been written to by the DDDA and told that it does not have responsibility for this development. This is untrue. The DDDA is responsible and, therefore, the Minister is responsible. I heard the Tánaiste washing her hands of this today and I have heard the Government say that essentially the matter has nothing to do with it. That is untrue and misleading and I guarantee that if enough of a political furore is kicked up about this, the Government will do something.

It is essential that the Government shows some leadership on this matter. The working group and the investigatory group to which the Minister of State referred will have no effect on the residents in the same way that the building regulations that were introduced by this Government in 2014 will have no effect, not only for the people at Longboat Quay but also in the context of any future developments. These regulations lack teeth and they cannot make a difference because there is no requirement for independent certification. Essentially, they allow developers to govern themselves.

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