Pat Buckley (Cork East, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I will make things easier for the Minister by asking all of my questions in a single contribution. I suppose he has inherited a disaster. It is not very promising and I will get straight to the point. I have a number of questions.

In his opening remarks the Minister confirmed that "the certificates signed by WBS are on the Department's files" and mentioned that "significant issues were uncovered in buildings which were confirmed by the contractor." Do we know what the significant issues are? It is obvious that there are foremen and site clerks, etc., on these sites. They also have to sign off on stuff. Will they be held accountable and responsible for this? A great deal of money is involved.

I pay tribute to the principals of some schools who had the gumption to refuse to allow students to go back into their schools on health and safety grounds. The Minister has mentioned that safety is paramount. The approach being taken has to be welcomed, even if teachers and other staff, students and family members are inconvenienced.

The Minister has said there has been no cover-up, but surely somebody signed off on the buildings in which defects have been found. Somebody somewhere has to be hiding something. Someone must be covering someone else's back. I am not saying this as a personal attack on the Minister, but I would like to know if there will be clarity on this issue. Many schools, including six in my local area, are affected by it. While I accept that the situation with the Carillion group is different, nothing is happening with the vocational school in my town of Midleton.

This is all about the need for clarity. We need to get answers. I would like the Minister to follow up on the issues I have raised. I am interested in knowing who signed off on these projects. Did a foreman or site clerk sign off on them? I have a background in this area, having spent 22 years in construction. When I worked as a foreman, I had responsibilities. If I had let down the people I represented, I could have faced jail. That is how important this issue is. I would be very much obliged if the Minister answered the questions I asked.

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