Dáil debates
Wednesday, 8 December 2021
Saincheisteanna Tráthúla - Topical Issue Debate
Housing Schemes
9:42 am
Chris Andrews (Dublin Bay South, Sinn Fein)
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I thank the Minister of State for facilitating this important matter. In 2004, 62 apartments were part of an affordable housing scheme at Poolbeg Quay, at the end of Sean Moore Road in Ringsend. There was huge excitement for those who got apartments and disappointment for those who did not.
In 2004, these affordable homes - two-bed apartments - cost, on average, €146,000. The residents bought them in the belief they would be of a high quality. It was not unreasonable for people to think, when they invested so much money and got mortgages, that checks would have been carried out in order that they would have homes fit to live in for many decades. People expect their homes to be built properly. People do not expect their homes to be hazardous and defective just 17 years after being built. Surely, it cannot be the residents' fault for not detecting these defects. One would imagine the arms of the State and the big business involved would not allow this to happen.
We must ask ourselves how have we reached a situation whereby ordinary families, such as the residents of Poolbeg Quay, Ringsend, have to pick up the tab for what seems to have been a systemic failure. Most people assume that banks or mortgage suppliers will carry out checks. There is an assumption that they will ensure that everything is done correctly so that a building is good for living in. Some 59 of the residents have their mortgages with Dublin City Council. Three have sold their apartments and paid the clawback amount.
Some 17 years after they were built, there is serious damage to these apartments. There is major water ingress into the apartments, which are in serious need of repair. The roofs are in a dangerous condition. Recent quotes the residents got estimate that it will cost €250,000 to fix them. That is €250,000 which the residents do not have. If the residents were unable to pay their mortgages, it would be an issue for Dublin City Council because the mortgages are with the council. The residents are in a 20-year clawback arrangement with the council. This matter has everything to do with Dublin City Council, which cannot be allowed to wash its hands of this matter. Dublin City Council should have carried out building inspections. Given the fact that the council was facilitating loans, it had a responsibility to ensure that the apartments were built to certain standards. Proper inspections should have been carried out. The council should also have inspected the apartments as part of its building controls. The council signed off on these apartments in the context of the loans issued.
The builder is deceased. However, the builder's companies cannot be allowed to walk away. I have been contacted by residents of Poolbeg Quay who are devastated by this turn of events. The big worry is that it will turn into another Priory Hall. We cannot leave people out to dry because others failed them. Will the Minister of State meet with the residents and listen to their stories? When he hears the details, I know he will support them. They need the support of the State, be that through the council or a direct scheme. I urge him not to forget the residents and not to turn his back on them. I ask that he meet with and listen to them.
9:52 am
Malcolm Noonan (Carlow-Kilkenny, Green Party)
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I tried to do some background research into this matter earlier because I was not terribly familiar with the scheme. I know the Deputy raised this issue a number of weeks ago. I thank him for raising it again this morning. I will outline the Department's response.
The programme for Government sets out a number of commitments in respect of the important policy area of building defects and provides for an examination of defects in housing, having regard to the recommendations of the Joint Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government in its report, Safe as Houses? A Report on Building Standards, Building Controls and Consumer Protection. These commitments are further supported by actions contained in the Housing For All strategy. In this context, the Minister, Deputy Darragh O'Brien, established ä working group to examine defects in housing under the chairmanship of Mr. Seamus Neely, former chief executive of Donegal County Council. The plenary working group has been meeting monthly since last March, with the exception of August, in addition to having subgroup meetings. The group's terms of reference were adopted in May and are focused on purpose-built apartment buildings, including duplexes, constructed between 1991 and 2013 in Ireland. The Minister considers it worthwhile to state these terms of reference for the information of the House.
The primary term of reference of the working group is to examine the defects having regard to the recommendations contained in chapter 4, item 4, of the Joint Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government's Safe as Houses? A Report on Building Standards, Building Controls and Consumer Protection. Item 4 is entitled "Addressing the legacy of bad building and poor regulation".
The second term of reference of the working group is to establish the nature of significant, widespread fire safety, structural safety and water ingress defects in purpose-built apartment buildings, including duplexes, constructed between 1991 and 2013 in Ireland. This is being done through consultation with affected homeowners, homeowner representative organisations, owners' management companies, relevant managing agents, public representatives, local authorities, product manufacturers, building professionals, industry stakeholders, insurance providers, mortgage providers and other relevant parties.
The third term of reference is to establish the scale of the issue. This will include work to estimate the number of dwellings affected by defects identified, including those already remediated. The fourth term of reference is to consider a methodology for the categorisation of defects and the prioritisation of remedial action. In the case of defects with fire safety implications, the working group is considering how the framework for enhancing fire safety in dwellings can be applied to mitigate the risks arising from fire safety defects pending the remediation of defects and the code of practice for fire safety assessment of premises and buildings, which is currently being developed by National Directorate of Fire and Emergency Management.
The fifth term of reference is to suggest mechanisms for resolving defects in the context of legal rights, duties and obligations of developers, builders, building professionals, insurers, mortgage providers, building control authorities, fire authorities, owners' management companies, owner-occupiers, renters and landlords. The working group will also evaluate the potential cost of technical remediation options and pursue options on possible financial solutions in order to effect a resolution in line with the programme for Government commitment to identify options for those impacted by defects to access low-cost, long-term finance.
The Minister is satisfied the group is working effectively and efficiently on this complex matter, and I look forward to a report in due course following completion of the deliberations. It would not be appropriate for me to comment on specific residential developments at this juncture. I assure the Deputy, however, that when the Minister receives the report of the working group, full consideration will be given to its contents. I will take back to the Minister the request the Deputy made in respect of his meeting the residents in this specific case. There is no doubt that the residents, having bought their homes in good faith, have been left in an awful situation.
Chris Andrews (Dublin Bay South, Sinn Fein)
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This is effectively putting the Government on notice regarding the issues that residents of Poolbeg Quay, Ringsend, are experiencing. The financial worry is leading to huge stress and concern. It is having a real impact on residents and families and their mental health. It is important that the Government does not abandon them. The residents are not going to leave this matter. They will ensure everything is done in order to get what they deserve, which is justice and equality. The big institutions should not be allowed to walk away from issues they should have resolved. They should not have left it to the residents to pick up the tab in respect of those issues. That is what is happening here.
The residents have significant mortgages. The worry of paying this back, while also trying to fix the significant defects, is massive. The people who got mortgages and invested in these properties did not expect that, after 17 years, some of their homes would not be capable of being lived in . The latter is going to be the case shortly unless repairs are carried out. It is vital that those repairs be done. I urge the Minister and the Minister of State to meet the residents. They are very reasonable, but they are in a difficult position. All they are looking for is fair play and support. Dublin City Council is trying to wash its hands of the matter. That cannot be allowed to happen. We do not want another Priory Hall. We want the residents of Poolbeg Quay, Ringsend, to be treated fairly. The issues are easily resolvable, and it is important they be resolved as soon as possible.
Malcolm Noonan (Carlow-Kilkenny, Green Party)
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I assure the House of the Government’s commitment in respect of this important policy area of building defects, which is reflected in the programme for Government and in Housing For All. The Government is committed to dealing with the issue of defects in housing. In this regard, we will continue to drive regulation in the construction sector and more sustainable methods of construction in order to ensure that the mistakes of the past are not repeated.
I am of the view that the issue of addressing defects in housing requires detailed consideration. The working group established by the Minister, Deputy Darragh O'Brien, is the most appropriate forum for considering the complex issues involved. As I have already mentioned, the working group's focus is on significant widespread fire safety, structural safety and water ingress defects in purpose-built apartment buildings, including duplexes, constructed between 1991 and 2013. The working group continues to meet regularly in this regard. In its deliberations, the group is engaging with a range of interested parties including homeowners, public representatives and local authorities. Consultation with the relevant parties has commenced and further arrangements in this regard are currently being put in place. While I appreciate that the work may not be proceeding as fast as some stakeholders would wish, I am of the view that it is important that we give the working group time to undertake this work, as set out in the broader terms of reference I outlined earlier. The Minister looks forward to receiving the report of the working group on its deliberations.
I will take that request for the Minister to meet the residents back to him. It really is unacceptable that, having bought homes in good faith under an affordable housing scheme, they are now left with this awful legacy from that era.