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

I was party to the negotiations on the programme for Government. There are apartments and schemes in my area and I have friends, family and constituents affected by this. I engaged directly with people right the way through. The legislation is important; that will be next year. This scheme will be with us for a number of years. It needs to be underpinned by primary legislation. I get that people want this done now but we have to make sure the interim and permanent schemes do what people want them to do. The commitment the Government has given to reimburse 100% of costs is crucially important. While I get that people have been frustrated with some delays this year, we have moved a long way forward. There is not just hope for people; there is certainty that we are stepping in based on a market failure, supporting residents and homeowners and moving forward with this. We intend to have the interim scheme for applications open this month.

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