Ivana Bacik (Dublin Bay South, Labour) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Tánaiste for that positive response and his acknowledgement that the Government will have to provide a response for those who, through no fault of their own, are living in this twofold fear in these apartments, the fear of debt and the fear about fire safety, in particular. Following the horrific Grenfell fire in London, that is uppermost in all our minds.

The scale of this problem is immense. It is thought that up to 80% of apartments built between 1991 and 2013 may be affected by these construction defects. Many of the people who are living in these apartments are living a life of fear and a life in debt because of the costs already incurred for remediating the defects. I believe a full remediation scheme will have to be developed, and we will work constructively with the Government to ensure that is done. However, we are conscious this will take time and it is vital that remediation work would continue in the meantime. We are asking the Government to ensure people who are paying remediation levies or have paid them will not be at a disadvantage. In the short term, we believe that will mean providing refundable tax credits to owner-occupiers and grants to social landlords in budget 2023 to ensure the fear that so many individuals and families are experiencing may be alleviated.

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