Alex White (Labour)

The third thing demonstrated by the collapse of the PPP should be of urgent interest to the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government and to Senator Boyle. It relates to the reason given for the abandonment of these projects. I have been told it relates to the downturn in the construction, but what was less well noticed were the other reasons proffered by Mr. McNamara for walking away from these projects, namely, that he must, rightly, observe the reasonable and necessary building regulations with regard to energy conservation and apartment size that have been introduced in Dublin city. It is interesting that he withdrew just at a time when the State and local authorities demand basic standards of design and size for apartments. What kind of shoeboxes did he propose to build on those sites?

There are sighs from those on the Government side and no doubt this will be an issue at the famous event in Galway at the end of July. When we had this debate previously with the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government, he sought consensus across the House on construction standards. I said to him then that the most significant area of concern in that regard was the attitude of the people on his side of the House. He needed to ensure his colleagues in Government would see to it that the construction industry and their friends in it would take the new regulations seriously. The collapse in the PPP mentioned demonstrates to me, if not to the House, that certain elements of the construction industry, bigger builders and those who find themselves in the top two or three in the CIF's recent publication, do not take the standards seriously. That is where the Minister's attention should be directed.