Thomas Byrne (Meath East, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I am horrified by the Minister's description of the problems this morning. What has been happening in our schools has put a shiver down the whole country's spine. I have a number of questions. Why are these issues arising now, more than one year after the fire safety audit was announced by the Department? Western Building Systems has stated in the media that a substantial completion certificate was issued by the Department. Is this the case? Can the Minister confirm that the Department certified this work as being appropriate, as Western Building Systems has said? If it did not do so, has it ever checked works independently itself or has it always relied on certificates of completion whether under the old regulation or the new regulations? When did the appointment of clerks of works start? I understand that only started one year ago and that it has not been done even with the new regulations. It seems clear to met that Western Buildings Systems should be eliminated from public tendering for the moment. The Minister is required to show significant or persistent deficiencies in the performance of a public contract to do this. There is no doubt that it has reached that threshold. Can the Minister confirm that the Statute of Limitations is not yet in force and that there is still a period in which to sue Western Building Systems and other professionals that may well be involved in negligence here?

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