Jan O'Sullivan (Limerick City, Labour) | Oireachtas source

I too wish the Minister and the Minister of State well in their new roles. I congratulate Deputy Catherine Martin and the Green Party for proposing this motion, which we will support, as we will support the amendment in the name of Deputy Ó Broin and his colleagues.

I want to join with those who have spoken about the awful occurrence at Grenfell Tower in London. I want to convey our condolences to the families of those who have perished and those suffering from the effects of that awful fire. It is a stark reminder of how lives can be lost when standards are ignored.

I agree with Deputy Ó Broin that this is a very opportune time to introduce an independent inspectorate in order to make buildings safe. We need construction to ramp up. We clearly have a shortage of houses and apartments and we hope, and are working to ensure, there is an increase in construction in the immediate future. In that context, we need to be absolutely certain we have the highest standards and that they are implemented. It is all very well to have standards but we have to ensure there is a body that will make sure they are implemented. That is why I believe we need to establish an independent inspectorate, and we support the Green Party in that regard. That inspectorate could be along the lines of the EPA, for example, or of the Food Safety Authority of Ireland. Such a body would have the power and remit to go in and examine homes under construction at various stages from foundation to finish. This is particularly urgent with regard to apartments where there are multiple occupiers. The "knock them down and fix them later" legacy of the Celtic tiger boom must never be allowed to happen again. I believe we should also have a register of inspections carried out that is available for public examination so there is an understanding and confidence that shoddy workmanship will not go unnoticed. I agree with Deputy Catherine Martin that this has to be adequately resourced.

Sadly, none of this will help the unfortunate householders who are faced with bills of between €15,000 and €38,000 in at least one development in the Dublin area, as we were told in the briefing today, and we know there are many more. They need a resolution process as proposed by the Green Party motion, another aspect of the motion which we will support. I agree with the suggestion that directors of companies that built substandard homes should be prohibited from being directors of any other company in the building sector for a significant time. We need to have some safeguard whereby, if people build something defective that is dangerous, they cannot set up another company, become directors and start all over again. We clearly need to do something about that and I would support that element also.

I was in the role of Minister of State in the Department of the Environment, Community and Local Government, as it then was, at a time when many of these issues were coming to light. One of the first meetings I had was with the residents of Priory Hall. The pyrite panel was also established at that time. In fairness to my senior Minister of the time, he did reform the building control regulations. That was hugely resisted by the very developers who had built substandard properties during the boom, when regulation was pretty invisible or just did not exist. At least there was that improvement. Unfortunately, however, there has been very little building since then, which is why I believe now is the opportune time for the establishment of an inspectorate, or whatever name it is given. Effectively, it would be there to ensure there is a random inspection programme and that builders would genuinely recognise that if they were doing something that was substandard, measures would be taken and there would be the possibility of a full inspection that would be publicly available for people to see. I believe that is the right thing to do. I welcome the fact the committee, of which I am not a member, is also working on this. I believe we should ensure we introduce these measures.

I want to quote one of the people who sent me an email, and I am sure many of us in the House received emails from residents who are trying to deal with this and who do not have the money themselves, which is why it is so important we look at the legacy issues as well as setting important standards for the future. One of the emails I received states: "For owners of apartments that are barely ten years old, it is unfair to be saddled with the financial burden that comes from the greed and carelessness of developers and contractors who benefited from the construction boom". That is just one quote but I had the opportunity to speak to other people who were also affected. They are people who genuinely have large mortgages and who simply cannot afford to do this work themselves. We need to find a resolution process for them as well.

I want to ask the Minister about an issue raised in the media. It is suggested the Construction Industry Federation has stated it is drafting upcoming legislation in the area itself. That is just not on. While I understand there has been some clarification from the Department or the Government, we cannot have the Construction Industry Federation deciding how to regulate itself. We need completely independent regulation. If there is any question about this, we absolutely need to have it clarified.

I want to also raise the issue of the fire safety review, which was referred to in the Minister's speech. While I am not sure if that is the same review Deputy Fiona O'Loughlin referred to, I understand there was a fire safety review commissioned in September 2015 and that it has been completed for some time.

The Minister said that what I assume is the same report is currently under consideration. It was received by the Department and, subject to clarification on a number of issues, it is intended the arrangements necessary for publication will be made at the earliest opportunity. I urge that it be published. I understand it has been with the Department for some time. Clearly there are people who have a real fear following the awful tragedy in London as they just do not know whether their own building is safe. I know the Minister has said he has asked all of the local authorities to go back, look and find out. I have spoken to councillors in my local authority and asked them to please follow it up with the council. All representatives need to do this. We have to ensure these fears are allayed and I urge that the report be published.

See this speech in context