Mary Lou McDonald (Dublin Central, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

The residents and owners of some boom-time developments across the State are facing massive repair costs and possible eviction due to building defects. Some of these include fire-safety issues, rotting roofs and defective balconies. The people concerned have bought or rented homes in good faith, but the Government has all but ignored calls to assist them. The Oireachtas Joint Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government published a report in January 2018 with 26 recommendations to tackle the issue of latent defects, including the establishment of a redress scheme to assist homeowners. The report received cross-party support. That redress scheme would be funded via an industry levy matched by Government funding and low-cost loans to help homeowners pay for remedial works, offering a real solution to those living in defective properties.

It is not acceptable to claim that this is a matter solely between the developer and the home purchaser since weak regulation was an underlying cause of the problem. Will the Government consider the establishment of a redress scheme for those living in defective properties? When will homeowners in Donegal and Mayo, affected by mica and pyrite, be able to access the redress scheme approved by Cabinet in November?

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