Malcolm Noonan (Carlow-Kilkenny, Green Party) | Oireachtas source

Gabhaim buíochas leis an Seanadóir. I note the Senator's comments in relation to the Minister, Deputy Darragh O'Brien. We have three Ministers working diligently in the Department and the Minister, Deputy Darragh O'Brien, has been deeply committed to trying to resolve these issues. I respect the point the Senator made and, critically, respect the work she has been doing on behalf of the residents on what has been a traumatic and difficult situation for them. Both I and the Minister, Deputy Darragh O'Brien, fully acknowledge the difficulties that homeowners and residents of many apartments and duplexes are facing and the stress that is caused when defects arise in relation to their buildings.

As previously stated in this House, the report of the working group the Minister established to examine defects in housing was published at the end of July. The group's terms of reference were focused on fire safety, structural safety and water ingress defects in purpose-build apartments, buildings and duplexes constructed between 1991 and 2013.

The content of this report confirmed what we already know. There is a significant and widespread issue with defects in a large number of apartments and duplexes that were built in that time period. Indeed, the working group estimates that between 62,500 and 100,000 apartments or duplexes may be affected by one or more fire safety, structural safety and water ingress defects with a potential total remediation cost of between €1.56 billion and €2.5 billion.

Following consideration of the working group's report, on behalf of the Minister, Deputy Darragh O'Brien, I will now update this House on the steps being taken to develop a plan to address the situation. First, on 27 September, the Minister, Deputy Darragh O'Brien, brought a memorandum to Government to inform it of the content of the report and the next steps he would be taking. The Minister has committed to reverting to Government at the end of this year with specific proposals. Second, an interdepartmental and agency group has been established to consider the recommendations contained in the working group's report and to elaborate on options for the potential sources of financial support and potential channels of deployment contained in the report. This interdepartmental and agency group has been asked to revert with proposed delivery mechanisms for the deployment of funding and to develop an options paper which will assist the Minister with developing proposals to present to Government before the end of the year. Third, the Department is in the process of establishing an advisory group to develop a code of practice in the context of the Fire Services Act to provide guidance to building professionals, local authority building control services and local authority fire services. Fourth, the Department is engaging with the Housing Agency for the provision of advice in relation to implementation of the recommendations of the working group's report.

As is evident from the detail I have presented to the House, a considerable amount of work is being undertaken and reflects the urgency that the Government believes is necessary to address this issue for affected homeowners. However, as recognised by the working group in its report, given that the overall potential scale and estimated cost of fixing the problem is so considerable it may take many years to address all buildings affected and resources and works will, therefore, need to be prioritised. In this regard, it would not be appropriate for those in charge of affected buildings to delay the undertaking of any remediation work that is considered necessary from a life-safety point of view.

I acknowledge the points the Senator made in relation to the families. We absolutely acknowledge the distress and trauma that this has caused them. The Government is making every effort to bring this to a successful resolution with those recommendations at the end of this year.