Enda Kenny (Mayo, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Deputy for her question. We had this before with Priory Hall and Longboat Quay, and now we have it in this instance. The solution is one that was never implemented in the first place. When planning permissions are issued by local authorities for major developments such as these, it is very simple to have a clerk of works appointed to supervise the job and, where greed arises or contractors decide to cut corners, order them to take the development down and rebuild it properly. However, during the exceptional boom - when everybody assumed we would all be millionaires without having to do any work - corners were cut. In the cases of Longboat Quay and Priory Hall, greed was a central element which impacted on the lives of the people involved. The answer to this question is that when planning permissions are given, there must be an oversight authority to see that the building is in accordance with the planning conditions issued. I cannot say to the Deputy that there are not other Priory Halls, Longboat Quays or other instances of what she has pointed out. It is not just about building regulations. They are important, and building standards are critical, but it is also about supervising the developments. If one grants permission for X number of developments and there is nobody to supervise what happens, one must be able to take the risk that the standard should be as one would expect, which is not what has happened in the case to which the Deputy refers.

This issue and what should be done about it are a focus of the Minister for Housing. In my view, where this has happened over the years, be it in individual cases, group apartments or major developments, the supervisory authority needs to be appointed either independently or by the local authority which grants the planning applications in the first instance. I have had numerous experiences over the years of cases in which contractors did have to obey the law and the rules and where those who did not were punished for not doing so. This is not an easy situation for the tenants in these apartments. They paid big money for the dream homes, as the Deputy says, to which they aspire. We had the same situation with pyrite on so many occasions. I cannot say to her that this has not happened elsewhere. From speaking to the families of those who lost children and young students in the Berkeley balcony collapse, I know that the position is the same in other countries where corners were cut and standards not realised.

This is an issue that requires a response and the Minister for Housing, Planning, Community and Local Government has already set out these standards. It is a case of implementing and supervising them in all developments. I cannot tell the Deputy this is the last case in the country.

See this speech in context