Sir, – You report that €300 million will be required to take more than 500 housing estates in charge (News, November 23rd). These estates were built with full planning permissions yet are not connected to public services. This, according to Minister for Housing Daragh O'Brien, is a result of "poor practice and supervision in the construction industry".
This poor “practice” is a direct result of government policy and deliberate light-touch self-regulation and has resulted in misery and hardship for thousands of householders and renters – in addition to the billions required from the taxpayer to pay for inadequate fire protection, pyrite and mica to mention just a few other scandals that arose from this same inadequate legislation and regulations.
The Government must as a matter of priority address this shortcoming and ensure that effective building control measures and inspections are re-introduced under the supervision and control of all local authorities. – Yours, etc,
HUGH PIERCE,
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Celbridge, Co Kildare.