Building control Bill
Deputy Eoin Ó Broin raised the Beacon South Quarter defects and asked for a review of post-2009 compliance rules alongside the promised building control Bill. The Taoiseach referred the question to Minister Simon Coveney, who said the Bill was a priority and heads should go to Cabinet by next month.
The owners and residents of 600 apartments in Beacon South Quarter in Sandyford have been told they face a bill in excess of €10 million to provide for remedial works for properties they bought which, unbeknown to them, were of a substandard nature. We can now add this development to names like Priory Hall, Aras na Cluaine and Longboat Quay.
The legislative programme provides for a new building control Bill. My question is twofold. First, will there be a comprehensive review of the existing compliance regulations introduced in 2009 to ensure that, if any updates are needed, they can be provided in this legislation? More important, will the legislation include comprehensive consumer protections that apply not only to people who buy properties in the future but, like the consumer protections provided via the Financial Services Ombudsman, that could apply retrospectively to give relief to families such as those in Sandyford or elsewhere who have, through no fault of their own, bought properties that are clearly not meeting fire safety or building regulations?
