Eoin Ó Broin (Dublin Mid West, Sinn Fein)
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1. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, and Local Government his plans for a redress scheme for homeowners impacted by Celtic Tiger-era fire safety, water ingress and other structural defects. [47294/22]

Eoin Ó Broin (Dublin Mid West, Sinn Fein)
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Yesterday, tens of thousands of homeowners and tenants who have been affected by Celtic tiger-era defects were desperately hoping that there would be a redress scheme announced in the budget. Instead, they heard by way of correspondence from the Minister that he is going to set up an interdepartmental agency group and advisory forum and that proposals for progressing some form of scheme will be delivered by the end of the year. Many of those homeowners are nervous that they will experience long delays before a new redress scheme will be open and available. Can the Minister outline what exactly his intention is and when a scheme will be available for these effected homeowners to get the redress they rightly deserve?

Darragh O'Brien (Dublin Fingal, Fianna Fail)
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As the Deputy will know, the programme for Government sets out a commitment to examine defects in housing having regard to the joint Oireachtas committee report, Safe as Houses, and to assist owners of latent defect properties by identifying the options for those affected by defects and what those financial options would be. In response, in February 2021, I established a working group to examine the matter. As the Deputy will know, the group was chaired by former Donegal County Council CEO Seamus Neely and included stakeholders who did good work and set the terms of reference. I got the report on 29 July, entitled Defects in Apartments. That is the report of the working group to examine those defects in housing. I published it the following day on 30 July.

Yesterday, I brought a memorandum to the Government to inform it of the content of the report and the next steps that I will be taking. In that context - this not about kicking it down the road at all but about doing it properly - I will now, in consultation with Government colleagues, develop options with a view to providing support to homeowners who find themselves in a difficult financial situation through no fault of their own. I said this is a nettle to be grasped. We put it in the programme for Government. I am acting on it and I am serious about doing it. First, an interdepartmental agency group will be established to bring forward specific proposals and it is important that is done. That will be done in a time-bound fashion.

In addition, an advisory group to develop a code of practice will also be established to provide guidance to building professionals and to local authority building control fire services, including guidance and interim safety measures in line with recommendation 8 within the working group's own report.

Finally, I also intend liaising with key stakeholders. I did write to them yesterday and I have met them. I met in advance of the budget and explained the position through Pat Montague, who I have to say is being incredibly co-operative and constructive in his response. I did write yesterday, as the Deputy mentioned, and I intend to proceed with this. We will need legislation to underpin this scheme. We need to do that. I will respond further in my supplementary response.

Eoin Ó Broin (Dublin Mid West, Sinn Fein)
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I recently met with homeowners and tenants in a development in Park West. They have recently learned that they have Celtic tiger-era defects to the tune of €70,000 per apartment. They need redress and support now. The concern I have from listening to the Minister’s response and from reading the letter he sent to the Construction Defects Alliance is that it sounds similar to the long, protracted process we saw with the defective blocks. There was a 12-month period before legislation was produced and passed. There is a six- to nine-month period where regulations have to be put into effect. In real terms, that means that these tens of thousands of homeowners could be looking at a scheme not being open or available until the middle or to the end of next year, with no available redress, no interim measures or no retrospective measures until 2024. Can the Minister at least give us some indication of his timeline for these pieces of work that he has outlined? What guarantee can he give us that we will not have the same delays in creating this new scheme as those we have seen with the controversial enhanced defective blocks scheme?

Darragh O'Brien (Dublin Fingal, Fianna Fail)
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First, the defective block scheme, as the Deputy knows, is an Exchequer and Government commitment in the region of €2.7 billion to assist homeowners in need of help in affected counties. We needed to underpin that with legislation. I also want to say to the Deputy that the mistakes of the first defective concrete blocks scheme need to be learned. They were set up under regulations and not on a sound basis under legislation. I have said to the Construction Defects Alliance that we will need legislation.

On the Deputy’s specific question around timeframes, I intend to bring options for financial assistance and for how this scheme would operate this year. I will stay in touch, as I have done regularly, with the Construction Defects Alliance and with other stakeholders. I am committed to helping in this space. The Deputy is right; I know thousands of homeowners and I have met with them in my own constituency and right across the country. This Government will help. I ask - I know in fairness that heretofore in relation to defects we have had this - for a constructive approach from all of us, because all of us want this rectified. I will not be dragging my feet on this, but we have to get the scheme right. I have to bring forward options that to get agreement in government as to what we can do.

Eoin Ó Broin (Dublin Mid West, Sinn Fein)
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The one thing that we should all learn from the two problematic defective block schemes is that we should not provide a grant scheme for Celtic tiger-era defects. The quickest, most efficient and most cost-effective way are providing these tens of thousands of homeowners with redress is to change the terms of reference for the Pyrite Resolution Board and to allow it to take on an end-to-end scheme to support those homeowners. A grant scheme will be exceptionally difficult to operate, particularly for multi-unit developments where there will be social housing landlords, private landlords, institutional landlords and homeowners. Therefore, I recommend that approach to the Minister.

The problem, however, is this work has already been delayed. The report was meant to be produced in the middle of last year. That is not the Minister’s fault, but it is because the work of the independent group took longer to do, and I not criticising it. However, if we have to wait for legislation, homeowners who are now losing their insurance and homeowners who are at risk of fire safety enforcement are being told essentially to wait for another year or for a year and a half before money starts to come down. Can the Minister give us any insurance that interim measures, retrospective measures or some kind of immediate support could be made available early next year because that is what these homeowners need to hear?

Darragh O'Brien (Dublin Fingal, Fianna Fail)
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All options will be looked at. I actually do not agree with the Deputy and I do not think the pyrite remediation scheme or that legislation would be a sound footing to set up a significant piece of work like this. Some 28,000 homeowners and households participated in the survey, so we have a good handle on the scope, the range and the type of defects, from fire defects to water ingress to structural defects. We also have quite a good handle on what the approximate cost would be, although it is approximate. We are looking at that per unit of approximately €20,000. I am aware of people who have already carried out works and fire safety works because they had to for their own good and for the safety of their families. In advance of the end of this year, I will be bringing forward to Government both long-term options and options that we look at on an interim basis. However, we need legislation. We need a robust scheme, because this scheme will probably be with us for five to ten years at least. I understand the point that the Deputy has made about the pyrite remediation scheme and the legislation there. I know from talking to the Construction Defects Alliance that they have a concern of trying to shoehorn this scheme into that also. We need stand-alone legislation. I will keep the House informed and I will be bringing options to Government in advance of the end of this year.