Niall Collins (Limerick County, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I want to pass four remarks to the Minister that he might respond to either now or in time. I echo what previous speakers have said about small builders, contractors and subcontractors in particular throughout the country and the people who require their services. It is imperative that they get back to work. We know they are not working. Some of them are doing essential work with the HSE in the local authorities but many of them in Limerick have been on to me and they are so anxious to get back to work. It is really important that they get back to work as soon as possible or indeed earlier than has been stated on the roadmap.

Has the Minister considered reviewing the Safety, Health and Welfare at Work (Construction) Regulations 2013? These provide regulations for stairwells, common areas, halls, lift areas and communal rooms in high-density, high-rise buildings.

Given the backdrop of the Covid-19 pandemic and the possibility of future pandemics, do we need to consider providing for more of these common areas in the high density residential building standards?

It is a massive challenge for everybody, including the local authorities, to try to build more housing more speedily and to deliver units to the thousands of people on the waiting lists. In that regard, has the Minister seriously considered a standardised design for housing from the Department and across the local authorities, or a suite of standardised designs based on the site size and the potential number of units? Part of the problem, as was pointed out to me and we see it when we are trying to help projects get over the line, is that the architectural work has to be outsourced and there is a tendering requirement. It slows down the process and adds greatly to its cost. When there was huge housing demand in this country previously, when the Lemass and other Governments had to build housing, there was a model of standardised design and it helped deliver housing more quickly. We should consider that.

I wish to make the Minister aware of a new departure or innovation in Limerick City and County Council. Great credit is due to the housing development officer for introducing a new process for streamlining the return of void and vacant properties into use. The key is that she has done so in full compliance with both procurement and standard guidelines and regulations, so much so that in a period of 12 weeks 60 voids have been returned to use and are ready to receive tenants. That is probably a world record in terms of how local authorities have been operating over the years in this country. The poor return of voids and vacant properties is a sad indictment of local authorities. The new model in Limerick should be examined. Great credit is due to the staff for this innovation. It should be considered by the Department and other local authorities in the country for getting the voids back into use.

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