Cian O'Callaghan (Dublin Bay North, Social Democrats) | Oireachtas source

I cannot understand why the Government would oppose us on this amendment and why the Government would not want the strongest, most robust and most independent regulator in terms of building works. That is what this amendment seeks to do. By opposing this amendment, it means not only will the public not have confidence in the building register but we will not get a strong, robust and independent regulator, which is badly needed. Having to explain why that is badly needed, it seems patently obvious that everyone here would understand that.

I refer to the public cost to the taxpayer. The cost of pyrite remediation is at €150 million. The cost of fire safety defects and building defects in schools is at €160 million. The cost of fixing faulty wastewater systems will reach €300 million. The cost of fire safety defects, mainly from Celtic tiger-era apartments, could run to over €1 billion.

An estimated 90,000 apartments are affected. We know the cost of the mica remediation scheme will be in excess of €2 billion. That is just the financial cost to taxpayers, which is significant, but the human cost has been even greater. As Deputy Ó Broin said, we have seen the loss of life in terms of the death of Fiachra Daly and the significant impact that had on his loved ones - his family, partner, children, wider family and community. Building defects are a major stress for each individual and family who deal with them.

For most regular people, a home is the largest financial investment they will make in their life, but it is also where people invest so much emotionally. A home provides people with safety and security and meets their basic needs, but it is also where they spend key moments in their life. It is where their children are brought back to when they are born. It is where they celebrate their birthdays. It is often where people die and everything around that happens. It is a huge emotional investment for individuals and families. When the home people have invested so much in begins to fall apart and crumble or they learn it is not safe due to fire safety defects or whatever else, it causes major shock and stress and people deal with it in lots of different ways. Because it is so stressful, the first thing some people do is go into denial. They do not know what to do. It is not something they ever expected or anticipated.

For these reasons, it is important that we get this right by having an independent, robust regulator of building works and building providers. However, the Bill is constructed in such a way that we will not have that. The regulator will be run by the industry and the lobby group for the industry. That is unforgivable. It is no comment on the lobby group, which is an effective one, but its members are not the right people to run this body, as it means it cannot be fully independent. What is more, we have the right body to do this in the National Building Control Office. We need a national building control authority like the Food Safety Authority. It needs to be strong and to be placed on a statutory footing. That is the least we must do. The NBCO is the right place to locate this office. I cannot for the life of me understand why that approach is not being taken. If this country did not have the recent history I outlined, it still would not be justified, but given everything that has happened, how on earth can the Government attempt to justify this?

See this speech in context