Defective Building Materials
Dail Éireann — 2026-04-21
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Christopher O'Sullivan (FF), Cork South-West

I thank Deputy Gallagher again. I absolutely take his point and I appreciate the urgency of this. The families and constituents the Deputy represents right across the board have been severely impacted by defective blocks. They have had their lives turned upside down and have experienced significant upheaval.
Regarding the amendment we are talking about and the regulations we are introducing on side-by-side construction, there is another layer of complexity and difficulty when it comes to those who may have had their houses formally adapted for mobility and the fact that it is not as straightforward as upping sticks and going to another home that is not adapted, as the Deputy quite rightly outlined. The latter is just not a possibility, which is why we agreed recently to introduce the amendment to change the existing arrangement. However, there are complexities. Drafting was not straightforward and simple. It is not something that can be done overnight. However, I absolutely take the Deputy’s point that there is urgency. The Deputy wants to be able to go back to constituents in Donegal and say that what he is requesting is happening. However, I am here with good news: the regulations are in the very final stages. I cannot give an exact date as that would be unfair, but within the next few weeks the regulations should be signed by the Minister and, therefore, implemented. I sincerely hope this is the last time the Deputy has to raise this in the Chamber. I cannot give a date but the regulations are in the final stages.

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Record URI: https://data.oireachtas.ie/akn/ie/debateRecord/dail/2026-04-21/debate/main
Retrieved: 2026-09-21T01:01:08+00:00
Sitting date: 2026-04-21