Thomas Pringle (Donegal, Independent) | Oireachtas source

It is very apparent as to who the winners and losers of the Celtic tiger are. We are sadly reminded of it over and over again through issues such as building defects. Sadly, the public is still paying the cost today, more than a decade later. It will continue to do so long into the future under a Fianna Fáil-Fine Gael Government. There has been continuous fall-out from the reckless boom during the Celtic tiger years. Unsurprisingly, the public did not get a cut of the astronomical profits made by developers, investors and bankers but it is, of course, expected to pay for the debt, mistakes and greed because that is the Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael way. They privatise the profits and socialise the losses.

For a Government that is so critical of the left, it is funny how socialism really works for it when it comes to debt and facilitating the greed of those cutting corners and causing unsafe living conditions for so many in this country. The report of the working group to examine defects on housing is a devastating read but, unfortunately, not a shocking one. It reports that up to 100,000 homes could be affected by building defects and that the cost of remediating these defects could be as high as €2.5 billion. There is nowhere in the country that has not been affected by building defects. My constituents in Donegal have been waiting for years for legislation to address deleterious materials in the concrete blocks that are causing their houses to fall down.

The Government made sure to rush the legislation through the Oireachtas before the summer break, allowing little time for scrutiny. As the Minister, Deputy Darragh O'Brien, claimed, the legislation had to be passed urgently in order that the enhanced scheme could open for applications as soon as possible. I have a word of warning for people in the apartments. The people affected by mica were told they were getting 100% redress. It is far from 100%. Six months later, there is still no sign of a scheme being implemented. Homeowners are stuck in limbo and their applications will not even be processed until the new year. It will be a long time after that before the affected homeowners see any benefit from this scheme.

It has now been revealed that fire safety defects have been uncovered on the Phoenix Park Racecourse development in Dublin, the largest development in the State. What will happen with that? Homeowners and tenants are not to blame for building defects. This Government, with its light-touch regulations, is to blame but the homeowners will have to carry the cost.

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