Francis Noel Duffy (Dublin South West, Green Party) | Oireachtas source

Very shortly after I was elected to the Dáil, I was introduced to Pat Montague, the Construction Defects Alliance and the Apartment Owners Network. I would like to believe I have continued the good working relationship the Minister, Deputy Catherine Martin, had with these organisations before me. Following on from the Minister's endeavours, I set about assisting them through a hearing before the Joint Committee on Housing, Local Government and Heritage, which provided clarity and a platform to voice their concerns and desires for redress and, in particular, the setting up of a working group which clearly had cross-party support.

Shortly after this briefing, a working group was set up by the Minister to examine a defects and redress process. The figure is still unclear but an estimated 100,000 homes in this State are affected by defects which currently put people at risk of living in unsafe and uninhabitable homes, ranging from fire to structural and water-ingress defects. Since the report by the working groups examining defects was published this summer, we have eagerly and patiently waited for the Minister and the interagency working group to publish the proposals.

This week, the Minister outlined the Department's proposals and it is both reassuring and welcoming that the Minister has listened to the concerns of homeowners through his engagement with the stakeholders and Department officials which I understand will include long-term solutions but also a set of interim measures. To my knowledge, the Minister and his Department are working under a worst-first strategy, which will ensure safety and fire issues are dealt with promptly. I welcome the establishment of a fire remediation section within the Housing Agency in order that those who apply to the scheme will have assistance from experts who can guide them through the process.

I noted earlier that the Minister, Deputy Catherine Martin, had worked extensively with parties affected by defects in the Thirty-second Dáil. She began preparing a Defective Dwellings Bill with the professional expertise of barristers Deirdre Ní Fhloinn and Mr. Conor Linehan who did a considerable amount of research and put in a considerable amount of time putting together the Bill. We are one of the only countries in the world not have legislated in this manner to protect homeowners. Now is the time for such legislation to allow people to protect their homes from defective construction practices.

The purpose of the Bill is to:

make provision for the law relating to the liability of builders, developers and others involved in the carrying out of residential construction works; to specify certain requirements applicable to residential construction works; to provide for certain duties to apply to such works; to provide for a means of redress for persons affected by housing defects and to specify the limitation periods relating to claims for such redress and to provide for related matters.

I introduced the Defective Dwellings Bill in the Dáil last September and we would be very grateful if the Minister would bring the Bill to Second Stage, as a Government action, considering its merits in providing a clear pathway for homeowners to find redress when confronted with a defect in their home.Defective Dwellings Bill

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