Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 21 July 2020
209. Deputy Brendan Smith asked the Minister for Finance if the statutory agencies of the State will assist persons who purchased apartments and have been denied access to their properties (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [16994/20]
View answerAs the Deputy will appreciate, I do not have a statutory responsibility for all State agencies; instead my functional responsibility relates to the public affairs connected with my Department and also to matters of administration for which I am responsible, including in respect of Government policy, those particular bodies which fall within the functional remit of my Department.
While I am indeed sympathetic to the issue raised by the Deputy, public policy matters in relation to the general operation of private contracts or to the management and operation of multi-use developments do not fall within the direct remit of my Department. Also, prima facia, it is not immediately apparent that one of the bodies under the aegis of my Department would have a particular operational or administrative function regarding the issue raised by the Deputy. However, if the Deputy does indeed have a particular operational or administrative issue to raise which is relevant to the administrative remit of one of the bodies under the aegis of my Department, then that specific matter can be raised directly with the particular relevant body.
