Darragh O'Brien (Dublin Fingal, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I propose to take Questions Nos. 88, 101, 103, 114, 138, 158, 161 and 220 together.

I thank all the Deputies for their questions and the number of Deputies asking shows how important this matter is in relation to legacy defects. I know Deputies of all parties and none have been working hard on this.

We know there are significant legacy defects in a large number of apartments and duplexes and as a result many owners of apartments and duplexes face really difficult and dire financial situations alongside, and we cannot forget this, the personal stress they undergo on a daily basis that is caused when defects arise in their buildings. The Government and I are absolutely committed to helping those whose lives have been impacted by this issue. The programme for Government sets out a number of commitments in respect of this important policy area of addressing building defects. These include a commitment to examine defects in housing, having regard to the matters at hand. In this regard I did receive Government approval on 18 January last to draft legislation to support the remediation of fire safety, structural safety and water ingress defects in purpose-built apartment buildings including duplexes constructed between 1991 and 2013. I established a working group within two months of my appointment as Minister. The working group did superb work and that involved all stakeholders and again I want to commend in particular the residents, the Construction Defects Alliance and the Apartment Owners Network for their incredible work. Others, such as the Society of Chartered Surveyors Ireland, SCSI, and the local authorities really fed into this. For the first time we have a significant survey of the scale of the defects. Some 28,000 homes were surveyed for the work we did. The working group report came to me at the end of July, I brought it to Cabinet in September and then I brought forward recommendations last week.

It will be a fully-funded scheme. It has to be on a full building basis. That is one of the challenges. The funding has to go to the owner-management company. With an apartment block, particularly in the area of fire defects, but also water ingress and structural issues, one cannot just do three quarters of the apartments in the block. All of them have to be done. I am optimistic about is that around 12% of apartments and duplexes have already been done. Where residents and owner-management companies found they had very serious issues they went ahead and they remediated and they are carrying the cost of that. On the Government decision I sought on 18 January, I can again confirm to the Dáil that costs already incurred will be covered under the scheme for certified work. That is important that it is certified in the overall context of the scheme.

Around 32% of these apartments, between 62,500 and up to 100,000 units, are already in the process of getting work done or about to contract it. I want to say to people to go ahead and do that work and not to delay. There are very serious issues relating to people's safety as well. Those costs will be covered on a full-building basis and fully funded also. We will stand the scheme up and it will take most of this year to get the legislation and regulation together about the workings of this scheme. The Housing Agency will be centrally involved in this also and we will utilise the expertise it brings in the area of mica defective block and also pyrite and infill. We will resource the local authorities. The local authority fire services will carry out the surveys and certify works also. I want to move this on but it is important for residents to know that this Government has their back on this and we want this work to continue. I will work with all members of the Dáil and Seanad to try to expedite the legislation as quickly as possible. This scheme will be with us for a few years and as with mica and defective block we need to get it right. Right now people can proceed, it is fully funded and we are committed to ensuring home owners not only get their homes remediated but have an opportunity to get their lives back on track. I have engaged directly with them also and was at a webinar recently with over 400 members of different management companies right across the country advising of what I will bring forward, which I have done. It is something I have seen in my area of Dublin-Fingal. I have friends, constituents and I know people across the country who have been affected by this. We will move apace on this and we welcome the input of all Deputies who have shown an interest in this already.

If I could say in the interests of the House, we received this morning, and it is a pity Deputy O'Callaghan is not here, the CSO figures for the housing completion figures for last year. We are talking about the first year of Housing for All. Last year, 29,851 homes were completed in 2022 which is significantly above the target the Government set of 24,600. We completed 9,184 in quarter four, a 31% increase on 2022. They are the highest figures for a quarter since the CSO began collating them in 2011. The increase in completions is 45% up on 2021. Housing for All is taking hold and in areas of new-build we can see that and we are as committed to tackling and grasping the nettle in relation to defects, both in apartments and duplexes and in relation to defective block in parts of our country also.

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