Damien English (Meath West, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

We have also looked at apartments and a task force made recommendations. In all cases when the evidence is gathered and examined, we act on recommendations. That happened with pyrite, mica and problems with apartments. The Minister, Deputy Eoghan Murphy, has been very clear on this in the Dáil. I am happy to meet the Senator to discuss options and I have met others to try to discuss the potential solutions. If there are solutions that can be worked with and are quantifiable, we will consider them. The potential exposure to the taxpayer is an issue and there is also the matter of who is responsible. This is about workmanship and not materials. These were private rather than State contracts. The problems with pyrite and mica arise from the materials used, which is a different issue.

I am happy to meet the Senator and discuss this. There is no point shouting or roaring and there is no need for it. I am happy to sit down with him and go through this. The Minister has again been clear that we are happy to work with management groups and apartment owners to try to find solutions. We recognise the difficulties and the first thing to be done is to make apartments safe from a fire safety perspective. That is the priority and the main issue for most apartment owners.