On 12 April 2025, serious concerns were raised by people in Grenagh, County Cork regarding the demolition work on the former piggery site where asbestos was present and became airborne. I can confirm that no planning permission was granted by Cork County Council for the demolition works, no planning was granted in respect of the asbestos materials and no disposal plan was in place for these asbestos materials. Both the HSE and HSA have engaged. Remediation works stopped in September last, which is six months ago. No completion timeline has been provided by the land owners to Cork County Council. It is now almost a year since residents flagged this, and they are still living in uncertainty. Local businesses and sports clubs have been affected. Families have questions about safety. People are afraid to use the playground in the area, and property values have significantly declined. Does the Government accept that unauthorised demolition involving asbestos is a serious breach of planning and environmental law? Will the Government now take action to ensure compliance and immediate remediation works in Grenagh?

I thank Deputy O'Flynn very much for raising this issue and the concerns of his constituents and the community in relation to the presence of asbestos and the actions that have been brought about potentially as a result of demolition works. While I am not familiar with all of the granular detail, on foot of the Deputy mentioning that the HSE and the HSA are both familiar with it, I will ask the Minister for Health, who has responsibility for the HSE, and the Minister for enterprise, who has responsibility for the HSA, to engage with both of those organisations and to come back to the Deputy directly. I will also ask that we follow this up with the planning authority from a planning enforcement point of view.