Consumer laws - Regulators should pay

Apart from health provision, there are few areas where consumer protection is as important as in the foggy area around buying a family home.

Consumers rely on a combination of central government, local authorities, professional regulators, as well as their builder’s credibility before they can believe that what is the largest investment of their life meets all the required building and safety standards.

The Grenfell Tower fire in London last June cost 71 lives and may be the most spectacular recent example of what happens when the highest standards do not prevail. Grenfell is an extreme

example but there are many others.

Today we report on a situation where 240 homeowners or investors in a Shannon estate have to find €2.25m to rectify defects in homes or face evacuation. The developer went into receivership in 2010 so recourse options are limited.

This situation, especially as mortgage lenders will not agree to suspend or write off repayments in these circumstances, is utterly unacceptable.

It is time that legislation holds those responsible for ensuring proper standards are met are made culpable for this kind of cowboy behaviour.

If a consumer is asked to pay for professional advice, that advice must be reliable and if it is not, it seems clear where the burden of rectifying the problem should fall. Why should the most vulnerable person in the equation — the home buyer — carry the can for inept builders and regulators?