Pat Casey (Wicklow, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

The report we are discussing this evening represents the committee's genuine efforts to work constructively on housing matters and to provide solutions that will work and are realistic. It is essential that we learn the lessons from the previous housing bubble and the resulting financial crash. It is essential to ensure that the increased supply of housing which is so badly needed and the existing housing stock are of the highest possible standard.

At the end of the day a house is a home for people and it should be built to last. At the very least every home in the Republic should be certified as safe for habitation. The tragedy at Grenfell Tower just under a year ago is an appropriate yet horrific reminder of the consequences of poor materials and insufficient fire safety controls in buildings. Examples of inadequate controls in Ireland gave us the infamous Priory Hall development, and the pyrite and mica disasters.

We also need to be clear about what exactly we are talking about so as not to be cynically raising people's fears about building standards in Ireland for political motives. Everyone here wants the best standards and is working towards that end. The standards in place for the construction of homes in Ireland are very high. Fire safety standards and building regulations are of a high quality and are on a par with best practice internationally, as has been confirmed by many experts in evidence to the committee. It is also confirmed in external expertise that we have sought for policy development in this area.

However, there is little point in having very high standards and comprehensive building regulations that can be pulled off a shelf every time there is an issue. We need a strong, independent and rigorous inspection system which is controlled by the State and enforces the regulations with serious penalties for breaches. I and my colleagues in Fianna Fáil will insist that we work purposefully and relentlessly towards an independent inspection regime of 100%. This will take a sea change in current thinking when it comes to the State's role in the housing sector and one that I genuinely hope can still happen.

I have been working with Deputy Darragh O'Brien and my colleagues in Fianna Fáil in drafting legislation on an inspection regime that is fit for purpose and can be trusted. That is what is needed here. We are also concerned about the lack of inspections in the private and public rental sector and through our vacant housing Bill we will also be clamping down on abuses that are occurring.

I agree that the current building control model, commonly referred to as BCAR, has made significant progress but it still has flaws in the committee's opinion. The current inspection model during construction involves an inspector known as an assigned certifier, who is employed by the builder or developer of the housing development. It does not take a public policy expert to see the potential conflict of interest that exists between the inspector - the assigned certifier - and the fact that the person who is paying the inspector is the developer of the house in question.

Another flaw lies in the prosecution for serious breaches in the inspection of building regulations. There must be severe and appropriate penalties on failures of inspectors. Under SI 9 of 2014 each professional body investigates complaints against its own members. For example, architects investigate architects and chartered surveyors investigate surveyors. This self-regulation is not appropriate in our view. That no sanction has been brought against an architect or surveyor for the last six years is evidence of the failures inherent in the current BCAR regime. Self-regulation on too many levels means no regulation.

It is obvious that we need independent and professional distance between the inspection regime and the developers and builders who construct our homes. There are plenty of international examples of such systems and the model the committee proposes is very worthy.

It is our view that the most appropriate platform for delivering this independent building inspection regime is the approved certifier list, which can be managed by the local authority and will provide the independent framework, with Department guidance. It will be the local authority and the State which will provide the steel that is needed for a robust inspection regime and it will be the State that will sanction and penalise any failings on behalf of the developer or the inspection system.

The committee's proposal of a new building standards and consumer protection agency is the one-stop shop that is needed to regulate and inform policy and procedures in this area. Over time, as this new system beds in and develops, there is massive potential for the local authority, qualified inspectors and builders and developers to learn from one another and to work in partnership to ensure the homes that are built in Ireland are safe, built to an exceptionally high standard and can be trusted, having being independently verified as such. This new model of building regulations and controls will also serve to restore trust in the State's ability to oversee important areas of social policy on an ongoing basis. As a progressive step, this is an example of a Dáil committee producing a workable proposal.

I want to take this opportunity to thank the committee's acting rapporteur, Deputy Ó Broin, and our Chairman, Deputy Bailey, for their work in preparing this report.

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