Eoin Ó Broin (Dublin Mid West, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I thank the witnesses for the two presentations.

The issue of latent defects is a scandal. The committee has to understand the extent of the scandal. The previous committee did significant work and agreed unanimously on a good report in 2017, which set out clearly what we felt the Government needed to do in this area. It is not just bad builders and developers that caused the problems which the homeowners experienced. They were able to do that because the regulatory regime was weak.

If one goes back and reads the Dáil transcripts from the late 1980s and early 1990s when the regulatory regime was introduced, a small number of Deputies said not to allow this form of self-regulation to be introduced or, at a future point in time, homeowners would be left with huge bills and no legal protection. The Oireachtas was warned when the old system was being passed into legislation and ignored that advice. Unfortunately, the correct predictions of that small number of Deputies came to pass.

It is regrettable that the previous Government, despite the fact that we had cross-party unanimity in this committee, held the line that latent defects was a private matter between purchasers and sellers, meaning the Government had nothing to do with it. Conversely, I welcome the announcement by the current Minister and the content of the programme for Government for this issue to be examined. The working group is a good development. We will all want to play constructively any role we can in supporting that.

I am less optimistic about the timeline because it is ten months before recommendations will be produced. Much work has been done on this, both by this committee as well as the Pyrite Resolution Board. I am even more concerned that we are not looking at any redress into 2022. People have bills to pay and insurance policies on their apartment blocks which are being withdrawn but they do not have the money to pay for that. That is affecting constituencies across the country.

It is also important to acknowledge that this is not only a Dublin issue. There are currently live latent defects in at least five counties across the State. It is a rural and urban issue and one affecting all of the State in different ways. Accordingly, the quicker we can get a good scheme in place, the better.

I am also concerned that the programme for Government refers to accessing low-cost finance.

Large numbers of people with latent defects will not be able to sustain debt and, therefore, the issue of grant aid directly from the State and industry, as well as tax relief, has to be on the agenda, and I will actively push for that.

For members who might not be as familiar with this or may not have come across it in their constituencies, will Mr. Scott talk us through how defects occur? What are the more common kinds of defects and what kinds of costs are there? I do not mean at the extreme end, because that can be €60,000, €70,000 or €80,000, but the more common costs.

My next question is on behalf of the various homeowners in a number of developments who have appeared before us. They have previously expressed to the committee their concern that the developers directly responsible for the defects in their properties subsequently get planning permission to build new developments. Does Mr. Scott have a view on that? Without asking him to comment on individual developers, will he share some of his views on the law reform that may be required or how it makes him feel personally?

Ms Cottier might confirm whether there is yet a timeline from the Minister as to when the committee is going to start meeting. Will it be this year or is it unlikely to be until next year?