Pauline Tully (Cavan-Monaghan, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

One of my constituents, Andrew Brennan, from Mullagh, County Cavan, was diagnosed with motor neurone disease in 2015. He was strongly advised to build an extension for his future needs. An adaptation grant was approved in 2016, a builder was chosen, work was approved to proceed by Cavan County Council and the extension was built.

During the winter of 2016, Andrew noticed the extension was extremely hard to heat. As he was only using the bathroom, and the builder assured him all was okay, he did not think much more of it. In the winter of 2017, he had the same problem and as he was now sleeping in the extension he contacted the council, but was told it was his responsibility to have the work checked. He borrowed €800 to have thermal energy tests done and was told that the roof was not insulated, and three plumbing companies told him there was inadequate heating and all of the radiators were grossly undersized. The builder finally agreed that there were issues, shut the extension down for a week to do repairs and assured him that everything was okay.

However, that was not the case. Andrew then had to employ architects and engineers to carry out inspections and what they found was truly shocking, considering that public funds were used to pay for the work. It is clear from the report that Andrew and his family were taken advantage of in their time of need. The builders did not put the minimum into the job, something they were obliged to do as builders. There is a list of non-compliance issues and further building regulations were breached when the repairs were supposed to be done.

The extension was not habitable during winter or any cold spells and Andrew spent his fourth winter sleeping on a makeshift bed on a sofa in the sitting room. Plug-in radiators were needed when using the bathroom and many have described walking into the extension as akin to stepping outside. To go to court would have cost him up to €20,000 and it would take up to five years to get there, but he does not have that time. His care team was faced with a huge challenge as a ceiling hoist was needed, but a building surveyor advised that the roof was not suitable to take the weight.

Eventually, he contacted the building control authority about the problem and, while it is its responsibility to enforce building regulations, it was, unfortunately, obliged to prosecute the Brennan family for the breaches, as the onus is on the homeowner to comply with building regulations. However, thankfully it did not do so as it thought to do so would be unpalatable. Instead, it requested an inspection of the extension, which resulted in a second grant being paid.

The extension was so badly built that it had to be demolished and rebuilt. The family had to leave their home and Cavan County Council had to put them into emergency accommodation for eight weeks. There have been considerable costs because of a rogue builder. To add insult to injury, the family discovered that while this was happening, the council was still approving the same builder for grant work.

The Brennan family put their trust in the builder to create a comfortable space for Andrew's future care, and they trusted the builder a second time to put things right, but unfortunately both times the builder prioritised greed over Andrew's health and well-being. Andrew's main concern is that another vulnerable person would not have to go through something similar to what he had to go through. Unfortunately, he is not the only disabled person who has been mistreated and taken advantage of. Many people have experienced this.

I welcome that the construction industry register will be on a statutory footing, but I question why it will take two years to establish it given that is has already been established on a voluntary basis. It is needed immediately. I also question why it is proposed that it be located within the CIF. It should be truly independent, and I do not trust that it will be. Why can it not be located within the NBCO? There are too many rogue or cowboy builders operating in Ireland. Andrew should have been concentrating on his care and spending quality time with his family, but instead had to deal with the worry of a cowboy builder.

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