Building defects and regulator
Senator Horkan sought a debate on apartment and housing defects and argued for a building regulator to ensure developments meet planning and safety standards. Humphreys interjected about self-certification, and Horkan reiterated the need to protect buyers from defective units.
I am aware of some of them. We sit on a committee together. I said I wished her luck. I did not say she could not do it. We all hope Brexit pans out in the least worst fashion possible. Perhaps if this deal does not happen we will go for a second vote and it will all have been a bad dream. However, I am not sure we will get that far too soon, either.
On the issue Senator Humphreys raised about fire safety in apartment buildings, I would like to see a debate in this House about the merits or otherwise of a building regulator. So many units were built and planning permissions granted during the boom. Stuff happened, stuff was built. Architects were supposed to have been involved, as were quality surveyors. There should have been supervision. I thought there was supervision and now we are talking about percentages of-----
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It was all self-certified under Fianna Fáil.
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I am just asking for it now.
I may not have been here in the past but I am here for the moment.
We should look at the merits of a building regulator and having somebody to examine commercial, residential and other units to ensure they are built to the specifications in their planning permissions. It is unfair on people who spent a significant amount of money to buy units only to discover significant safety defects. It is unbelievable that so many units were built that were not built to the expected specifications.