Sir, – A purely hypothetical scenario. I own a German car and an apartment in Dublin. I discover that there are some problems with both. In the first case, the head of the car maker resigns in disgrace, millions are wiped from its share value, and it spends many millions more making reparations and recalling the faulty product, at its own expense. And all to fix a “fault” which turns out to be lines of code in the onboard computer that won’t make a damn bit of difference to the car. The apartment, it turns out, was not built correctly. Somebody broke the regulations, and someone else never checked the work. I am told that I need to fork out thousands to fix a potentially dangerous problem that was not of my own making. And no-one else will have to pay; certainly not those that should be liable.
So what’s wrong with this picture? I’m not sure, but if someone knocks on your door in the coming months, you might ask them. – Yours, etc,
DECLAN KENNY,
Leixlip,
Co Kildare.
A chara, – Am I missing something when I read about places like Priory Hall or Longboat Quay? How did banks approve mortgages for these developments without full certification? Who signed off on compliance with building and local authority regulations? Did solicitors do due diligence regarding all aspects before allowing their clients sign contracts? Were fire certificates issued? Where did the architect and design team go after the launch of the projects and what were the project managers doing as the buildings progressed? Did banks insist on proper surveys being conducted before releasing mortgages? Responsibility for all these issues should be shared equally among all these “honourable” professions and not by the owners. – Yours, etc,
SEAN Ó DIOMASAIGH,
Dunsany,
Co Meath.
Sir, – Accountability? No thanks, we’re Irish. – Yours, etc,
JANE WALL,
Bray,
Co Wicklow.
Sir, – The State, in its infinite wisdom, decided to replace the archaic, limited but eminently simple and comprehensible building byelaws with complex and largely unintelligible building regulations, which critically had no provision for statutory inspection and enforcement. The rest is history! – Yours, etc,
ADRIAN J ENGLISH,
Glenageary,
Co Dublin.