Paschal Donohoe (Dublin Central, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Deputy for raising this particularly serious matter for homeowners who are affected by these fire safety risks. I know the homes to which the Deputy refers and I can only imagine the worry and anxiety many different homeowners are facing. They have a right to be concerned about their safety and the safety of the properties that are their homes.

The Government and the Minister, Deputy Darragh O'Brien, have recognised the scale of this issue and are already working on how the Government can respond to the issues of safety and defects that are growing in scale. There will need to be a Government response. This work is taking two different forms. First, work is underway on how we can reform our building control policy to look at what are the right measures that need to be in place to give us confidence that this will not happen again. The work that is already happening is on how our building control regulations can be amended, the establishment of an national building control office, and under the building works Act of 2022, the regulation of providers and the establishment of a new building standards regulator. This work is happening now and is looking at the issues raised by Deputy Murphy, how we can prevent them from happening in the future and, if they do happen, how we can be clear in our response.

What the Government and the Minister, Deputy Darragh O'Brien, are committed to is providing full certainty on what the responsibility is in the delivery of homes and buildings, what is the responsibility of those building them, what is the responsibility of those who regulate them and how action will be taken to prevent this happening in the future.

I am conscious that my answers are about how we can deal with this in the time ahead. As to how we respond to the issues in the Phoenix Park and beyond, the Minister brought forward the report of a working group on housing defects last July. This report demonstrated the scale of the issue and risk, and that between 62,500 and 100,000 homes, apartments, duplexes and houses could be affected by this. It was noted in the report that fire safety defects could be the most serious issue. A working group has now been established to respond to the report. I expect the conclusion of the working group will be received shortly and will put in place a national framework for the Government to respond to the huge difficulties raised by Deputy Paul Murphy.

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