Aodhán Ó Ríordáin (Labour) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Minister for attending to discuss this important issue. Priory Hall has been mentioned and I will not go over it again, but a man lost his life due to the stress involved in that situation. What we are discussing is not a victimless crime - no one is suggesting that it is - and it has a major impact on people's day-to-day lives. The home where they reside should be somewhere they seek sanctuary and where they come home to at the end of the day. It should not be something that gives them a headache. They should not wake up in the morning, look around and feel depressed about the lives they are living. There are other pressures in people's lives - work, family, things that go wrong, finances, etc. The house that one lives in should not cause one distress.

In many ways, I am reluctant to name the areas where I have been working, given that the values of such properties inevitably decrease. Sometimes, the challenge that we in politics face is how to advocate for people who are caught in a situation without doing irreparable damage to the value of their properties. We are always trying to find a balance. Sometimes, that lets developers off with what they have done. However, the issues in Belmayne are in the public domain. I have met families, sat in their accommodations and witnessed their frustration, angst and terror about raising families in apartments that are in their view and according to the advice they have received fire hazards. Unfortunately, they feel like they are acting alone, do not have backup from the State and are fighting a lonely battle. They bought something in good faith at a time when it was extremely expensive to do so, yet all of those agencies that should be encircling them and fighting and advocating for them do not appear to be in attendance now - the Dublin city fire officer, Dublin City Council, the Minister's office and the developer. One would imagine that there would be a sense of urgency to surround these families with care, compassion, understanding and, indeed, finance. If families are being quoted a price to refurbish a particular unit, and given that it was no fault of their own that they bought a fire trap, surely a mechanism or fund should be in place for them to access and dip into in order to facilitate those changes and modifications. Being caught in this situation is distressing for families.

When an area is identified as potentially having fire risks, please do not let any of us be present at the site of a disaster the morning after saying that, although we had been told, we had not been sure and there had been a court case or other reasons for us not to intervene. Will the Minister engage proactively, particularly in the Belmayne situation, with the city council, the fire officer and residents on finding a solution to allow these families to move on with their lives? It seems like a pause is being placed on their lives until the situation is adequately resolved. It is difficult to envisage how someone can put his or her child to bed at night in a place he or she does not believe is safe. Will the Minister please take it upon himself to be the person to back these families, get everyone around the table, including the developer, Dublin City Council, the council's fire officer, the residents' groups, public representatives and whoever else needs to be there, and find a way to make this situation better? It may require a fund that can be accessed interest free or a grant to alleviate the issues.

The question of why the taxpayer should foot the bill for developers' wrongdoings has been mentioned. I have sympathy with that argument, but people who, in good faith, bought an apartment that now potentially threatens their lives and the lives of their children should not foot the bill either. There must be a middle way. I appeal to the Minister's better instincts and ask him for his proactive engagement in the Belmayne area. I want to be able to report to the residents this evening that the Minister listened, cares, wants to find solutions and will engage with the community directly.