Fiona O'Loughlin (Kildare South, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I take this opportunity to congratulate both Ministers on their appointments and wish them well. They have a huge task of work ahead of them and we look forward both to working with them and to holding them to account regarding the many challenges on the way.

The Minister said he wanted to avoid rhetoric and spreading fear in this debate. I accept the point he made. Priory Hall, Longboat Quay and Beacon Court are three schemes that have captured national attention over the past number of years. Thankfully, there has never been a fire in any of them. I wish to talk to the Ministers about a place where there was a fire. I refer to Newbridge, where six houses were absolutely gutted within 35 minutes. On 31 March 2015, just over two years ago, the six houses in Millfield Manor estate in Newbridge - six of a complex of 90 houses - burned to the ground after flames spread rapidly from a fire started in one of the houses. It transpired that there were no proper fire barriers between the houses. There were improper and badly constructed internal walls, and this terrace of two-storey - not multistorey - homes was ablaze within 20 minutes. The houses were gutted to the ground in 35 minutes. I have a photograph of the aftermath of the fire here. Thankfully, this happened during the day and there was only one resident present in the six houses. If it had occurred during the night, I think it would have been a very different state of affairs. Between 20 and 35 residents live in each of these blocks of six houses, and it is almost certain that if this had occurred during the night, very sadly, people would have died. The present home owners live with that fear every single day. Six households fled for their lives, with only the clothes on their backs. Not any other scrap of clothing, not a stick of furniture, not a family photograph, not a children's toy survived this inferno. All of the families' hopes and dreams went up in the flames, which I witnessed myself. Their lives - not only the lives of the six families, but also those of all the residents living in Millfield - changed forever. Every property owner in Millfield is an innocent party, having bought a property in good faith, relying on the provided certification and the processes they believed existed in the associated areas of planning and inspection.

Newbridge, in a sign of the wonderful community it is, responded in a hugely compassionate way that night and in the days and weeks that followed. Our local hotel, the Keadeen Hotel, immediately provided emergency accommodation for the families, and the community immediately got together and responded by offering clothes, toiletries, finance and indeed comfort. Since then, on many occasions and at many meetings, I have sat with grown men who have cried and women who held their children close and were afraid to bring them to their homes. These people are trapped in negative equity, do not feel safe or secure and are not able to sleep at night. This fire continues to cause grave concern and huge stress, and there are significant legacy issues for the remaining inhabitants, whose houses and apartments are now under serious question as to their safety compliance standards.

The various statutory bodies have offered no comfort or guidance to the remaining house owners, and they have many questions. Some of these questions are as follows. Is it safe to continue living in these houses or apartments? It is not. How is their insurance impacted by the perception that the structures were non-compliant with fire regulations? Many can no longer get insurance cover. What recourse do they have to the planning authorities? Of course, there is none. What responsibility does national government have? To date, no responsibility has been shown. What sanctions are open against the developer, who is now involved in NAMA and who just took shortcuts to make a quick buck, and the management company? There have been none. What can be done to restore equity to these houses that have become virtually unsellable since the fire? Of course, nothing has happened in that regard.

I do not think I have ever felt as frustrated or helpless as when I have had to tell my constituents living there that no financial or practical assistance is available for the installation of life-saving fire barriers. They have been told this work could cost approximately €35,000, which is simply unaffordable for them. They are struggling to meet their mortgages as it is. Those living there have been told no funding is available to bring their properties up to fire safety standards. They are unable to sell the properties or get home insurance as these are fire-risk houses. I appreciate that the Minister has only been in his position for a few days, but the previous Minister, Deputy Coveney, has had a report about Millfield Manor sitting on his desk for 15 months. This report needs to be released and a surveyor appointed to quantify the works required on a sample block of six homes in Millfield Manor and the best way to proceed.

The residents of Millfield Manor have contacted me again in the past few days after the recent horrific and tragic fire in Grenfell Tower - in respect of which I offer my deepest sympathies to all involved - highlighting how unsafe they feel in their homes and their frustration with our failed building inspection systems. Building standards must be reformed. I commend Deputy Martin for tabling this motion as building control regulations are inadequate and protect neither home owners nor subsequent home purchasers against negligent developers. It is incredible that despite numerous high-profile building failures, there have been no sanctions against architects or surveyors for complaints in the past six years. It is clear that self-regulation of design and construction standards simply does not work and it is necessary for independent State authorities to check every new development to ensure it is compliant with building control regulations. Our party's amendment includes provision for this. We are all aware of the current housing shortage but, in our rush to build new homes, safety must be paramount and grossly defective building standards must be a thing of the past. The fire in Millfield, Newbridge, has shown the consequences of failure to meet minimum compliance standards. The fear experienced by Millfield residents and homeowners daily is a legacy that cannot be ignored. We talk about safe and secure houses. We must make that happen. My party will table a different Bill to deal with the issue of non-compliance with fire safety and other building regulations.

I will leave my last words to the committee that has been formed regarding Millfield Manor: "This is a life-and-death issue within our community, and we have encountered serious obstacles in the last two years in remedying construction failures due to lack of clarity on standards and the cost associated with such works." I appeal to the Ministers to do something radical about Millfield and to support the motion with our amendment.

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