Marie Sherlock (Labour) | Oireachtas source

Over the past eight weeks, I have had reason to meet a considerable number of apartment dwellers in the area of Dublin Central where I am based. They live in apartment blocks which were built in the late 1990s and early 2000s, and over the past three to four years, they have had to come to terms with the horrendous reality that they are living in units that are effectively fire hazards, and units that are riddled with construction defects. Despite the impressive exterior of many of these apartments, behind that there are instances of negligent design and contemptible behaviour with regard to construction standards. There are cavity barriers that are not mechanically fixed, there is no fire stopping around many openings, there is soil in service pipes, insulation cladding has been found to contain combustible material, and the list goes on. This is a nightmare that thousands of people living in apartments in this city and throughout the country have to deal with day in, day out.

The consequences for many apartment owners and dwellers is that they face bills of up to €50,000. For some, that bill will be spread over a number of years. I know of one apartment block where €15,000 is demanded of each owner between now and the end of the year. For some, that is simply impossible. Failure to provide it will mean that they will not get insurance and, of course, will have to live with the risk that they are living in a unit that could go on fire at any time. Yet, the people who fraudulently signed off on the self-certified fire safety certificates, the well known names around this city who built those apartment blocks, continue to design and get planning permission for further developments in this city and throughout the country, and there are no consequences for them for the havoc they have left behind them.

There is no doubt a number of legislative changes are needed, and that the State needs to step in with regard to a fund. There is, however, an immediate action that the Government can take next week, which I hope will be relayed back. Last week the Minister for Finance clarified to my colleague, Deputy Ged Nash, that tax relief on levies and service charges incurred by apartment owners is allowable for landlords, but is not available for those who own apartments.Last week, the Minister for Finance clarified to my colleague, Deputy Nash, that tax relief on levies and service charges incurred by apartment owners is allowable for landlords but is not available or allowable for those who own apartments. That has to change. It will not make an enormous difference to those apartment owners in respect of the bills they are facing but it would be something. We all have to remember that Priory Hall was only acted upon when somebody took their life. We could face a similar situation in the context of the bills people are facing at this point in time. We need the Government to respond now.