Irish Examiner view: Taxpayers foot the bill for boom builds
At Of File Picture: Cost Litany One Protests Continued Stephen Billions Problems Of Which Will The Us To Leinster All Let Is Which Scandal House Of A Mica But Collins
That being the case, the response of Ireland Inc to a variety of construction scandals leaves a lot to be desired, particularly as we do not appear to have learnt from any of them and nobody other than the Irish taxpayer is left to pick up the
bill for decades of malfeasance and woeful absence of responsibility.
We’ve had the mica scandal, the Priory Hall scandal, and many others and on each occasion those responsible have not been held accountable. Now, it seems, we’re facing another massive bill as boom-time builders responsible for defective homes built during the Celtic Tiger years cannot be made to pay for remediation works.
The bill for such works will stretch into the billions of euro and the report of the working group on defects in housing, commissioned by Housing Minister Darragh O’Brien, states that:
The report highlighted the effects of the malaise and the slapdash legacy of the Celtic Tiger.
Alarmingly, it also found that “the common thread” to the origin of the defects was a lack of understanding by construction professionals, developers, insurers, lenders, and financiers of the complexities of constructing buildings. This in itself seems almost preposterous. That there will be no accountability is exasperating and frustrating in equal measure.
The report also found homebuyers are left with a minimum of legal options, despite a “clear” statutory position that the primary responsibility rests with owners, designers, and builders.
Now we will find out how, politically, this will play out among the voting public, which can only seethe at being left, once more, to foot the bill.
Will we ever learn?