Jennifer Murnane O'Connor (Carlow-Kilkenny, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

We need a sustainable housing system and we need legislation like this. We also need to develop a culture of good practice and compliance with building regulations in the system in order that the general public can benefit. We need to do that to give confidence to the public and eliminate cowboy builders from the industry.

People visit my clinics to raise issues relating to their homes. We need to ensure that people know their homes are built to the highest standards and that any professional services they use are also of a certain standard. To stop repeating the mistakes of the past, we need this legislation and we must all support it. I especially welcome the mechanism for complaints against registered builders to be made on a number of grounds, in particular, where an entity is providing building services in a category in which it is not registered. The Bill provides for a range of proportionate sanctions to be imposed after investigation. This is a welcome and important provision because we need accountability and this Bill will provide that.

It is vital that we have compliance in the construction sector through building regulations and building control regulations, including the establishment of registers of competent builders and placing the Construction Industry Register Ireland on a statutory footing. People need to have confidence in builders and developers and anyone who is not operating in that spirit should be answerable.

Previous speakers raised a lot of issues. Speaking to a friend who lives in England, I learned that councils in England have building control departments that carry out building inspections to ensure all work is compliant with building regulations. Our local authorities have a huge part to play in this regard. When people apply for a house or anything to do with buildings, who do they contact? It is the local authority. I want to know what exactly is the role of local authorities. Perhaps the Minister of State will come back to me on that.

The issue of building and infrastructure has been raised. All of us want to see housing and there is definitely a lack of supply. Affordable housing supply also needs to be addressed. One of the biggest issues in Carlow and Kilkenny is with infrastructure. We know housing will be build in an area but we also know it will create major backlogs on the roads. There is no infrastructure and water and sewerage systems are also an issue. No matter what happens, proper infrastructure must be put in place when builders are building houses. This issue needs to be addressed.

People are telling me that the cost of housing is a big issue. I do not know how it will be sorted. The issue is the cost of materials and the delay in getting them. As previous speakers said, it is impossible to get tradespeople. That also needs to be addressed. The number of apprentices has seemingly increased this year, which is very important. The Government is committed to ensuring we have enough apprentices in building and electrical trades.

While I welcome this, we need to address other issues in local authorities.

We discussed planning before Christmas. Many Deputies raised planning and the issues faced by local authorities. There was meant to be a full discussion on planning in local authorities because every area has its own issues with planning, once-off planning and whatever else. I do not know when that will happen, but I ask that the Minister of State take note of that. It is important that we speak about local authority planning infrastructure. Development plans are in place, but it is important that we as Deputies know what is happening and see where we can make changes. People contact us every day about issues to do with planning or tell us they cannot get planning. There are many obstacles. Sons and daughters have emigrated and want to return home to their families. If they had planning permission to build they would do so, but they face unreal obstacles in local authorities.

We are here to encourage people. We would love our young people to return to Ireland having worked abroad, but we do not seem to be doing that. That is why we need to address all of these issues. The problems can be solved by all of us working together. A lot of good work is being done in housing. We need to address many issues, and I know the Minister, Deputy Darragh O'Brien, and the Minister of State are committed to resolving them. These issues can be solved, but that requires all of us working together to make sure that no one is in a situation where they cannot buy a house due to affordability. We need to ensure a supply of houses for people who need them. That is the biggest issue.

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