Martin Mansergh (Fianna Fail)

I am disappointed by the lack of historical imagination shown by some speakers. People have no idea how ancient civilisations were organised if they believe the wonders of the ancient world, such as the pyramids or the hanging gardens of Babylon were jerry-built by people without qualifications. Just because we cannot decipher the hieroglyphs or the library of Alexandria has been lost does not mean these professions were not regulated. The master guilds were closely regulated in the Middle Ages, in a hierarchical manner. They existed under the ancien regime until the French Revolution. If we had examined the Statute Law Revision Bill some of the Acts repealed related to crafts that are no longer in so much use.

The Minister has a clever formula for controlling admissions. The professional bodies are in charge of admissions but the majority of the admissions board is appointed by the Minister, a reasonable compromise. The codes of conduct are important. In the economy in which we live, mutual recognition of qualifications across the EU and, subject to qualification, elsewhere is desirable. The hidden protectionism we and other countries had for the past 20 years is not appropriate to the thriving global economy we now have.

If enforcement is to be effective there is no point in fines being payable to the Exchequer because there is no financial incentive. If fines are paid to local authorities they have an incentive to enforce. Enforcement has left much to be desired in the past.

We approve of disability access and fire safety measures in buildings. Energy performance and insulation is important. We have forgotten how raw the Irish climate can be. One realises this when reading the records of the number of soldiers who died of climatic effects waiting for the battle of Kinsale. Climate and poor habitation had quite a bit to do with the 1 million people who died during the Famine of the 1840s. We have improved our housing stock beyond recognition. We should pay tribute to the quality of public and social housing during the early decades of the State. Many have lasted very well and have undergone improvement in private hands. They look very well and compare favourably with what was built 40 years later.

We now have choices that we did not have 30 years ago. Apartment living was not a possibility, with very few exceptions. It is widespread on the Continent in both capitals and provincial towns. More apartments are now being built in provincial towns and the standard of many of them is excellent. At the lower end of the scale, one wonders how well small, box-like structures will last and to what extent they will keep their value. I came across some apartments in Cork city that were very damp. This should not happen and, now that we have overcome the shortage of accommodation, there should be more emphasis on quality rather than quantity.

I encourage people to adopt alternative energy supplements. I would not make it compulsory but conservation and efficiency are important. If one lives in an older house, too much insulation leads to dry rot. One must be careful. Concern was expressed on the Order of Business with regard to apartments entirely taking over the city, removing facilities such as hotels, filling stations and schools run by religious orders and invading green spaces and clubs. Many of the finest capitals in Europe — Vienna is one example — have green squares at regular intervals. I am utterly appalled at suggestions by people with so-called environmental credentials that we should allow half of St. Anne's Park in Raheny to be used for housing. We should value our green spaces and not lightly give up any of them except for the most pressing and convincing social purposes, and certainly not just to make speculative profit for builders.

The Minister is probably aware of a problem I increasingly encounter, that is, interruptions of the water supply. Public water supply is just as essential as electricity. Interruptions might be due to a combination of factors, including the effects of global warming and all the building taking place throughout the country. However, when I was canvassing last Saturday with a councillor, he was constantly dealing with telephone calls about the water supply being cut off for several hours for the second day running in a local village. In some cases interruptions are due to upgrading works but our water supplies are coming under pressure. The Minister and his successors will have to seek more money from the Department of Finance to ensure people can be confident of their water supply in the same way as they are, broadly speaking, confident of their electricity or gas supplies. Water is vital for many forms of economic activity, particularly in the tourism industry.

People of certain political tendencies tend to throw around comments about my party's closeness to the construction industry. There has been huge development in this country in the past 20 years. Not all of it was good but the majority was. We should be proud of that development. Dublin is a terrific city compared to what it was 20 years ago, when it was rather run down, or 50 years ago, when it was shabbily genteel and contained many slums.

In most provincial towns people welcome development. They are glad when new housing is built and that there will be a larger population to support better commercial, recreational and sporting facilities. For a long time there was no development and the population was declining. Most villages in my constituency have small housing estates, with many of them built in the past two years or so. Incidentally, they appear to be high quality housing in so far as I can judge. We should welcome that and be proud of it. If that type of development is one of the engines firing the economy, so be it. There is nothing wrong with it.