Lynn Boylan (Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

This amendment relates to double recovery and relates to people who are taking a case against the supplier of the defective blocks that is currently underway. Section 29 will prohibit people from taking cases in the future. There amendment addresses people who will benefit if they successfully take a case against a supplier and they have already received a grant. Nobody is arguing that anybody should have double recovery or make a profit from taking a case, because the grants involve public money after all. If people have a successful case, the Minister should only get the excess above 100%. If it costs €169,000 to rebuild a 90 sq. m home, a person will get a grant of €100,000 under this scheme and then have to take a loan to make up the difference. If a person wins €100,000, then under the current scheme, the Minister will get the whole €100,000 back and the person will still be in debt, having borrowed money to rebuild his or her home. We believe that if people borrow money and then receive an award in court, it should cover their debt and the remainder should go back to the State to pay off the grant. Nobody is making a profit. This is not double recovery, but it ensures that homeowners are not left out of pocket.