Niall Collins (Limerick County, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I thank Senator Seery Kearney for providing us with an opportunity to update the Seanad on this important matter. At the outset, I would like to assure the Seanad of this Government's commitment to support homeowners and residents of many apartments and duplexes with defects. The Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage, Deputy Darragh O’Brien, fully acknowledges the stress that is caused when defects arise in these buildings and, indeed, homes.

Since the receipt of the Government's approval in January of this year to draft legislation to establish supports for the remediation of defects, the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage has been working to progress the various programmes of work that are required to place the remediation scheme on a statutory footing. As the Senator will appreciate, it is a complex situation. There are legal, technical and financial issues and challenges involved in establishing the scheme, many of which we have surmounted already. The Department is advancing the steps to prepare the required legislation and put the remediation scheme and statutory footing as a matter of priority.

Given the complexity of issues - including the significant amount of Exchequer funding we are committing to provide to assist affected homeowners, including an element of retrospection that is likely to cost in excess of €2.5 billion - sufficient time is required to ensure that the scheme is fit for purpose and includes appropriate oversight and governance. It is expected that the draft legislation will be published next year. It is intended that subject to the legislative process the statutory scheme will be in place shortly thereafter.

The Minister, Deputy Darragh O’Brien, has given priority to the steps that are needed to underpin the legislation but, more importantly and in advance of that, to support the introduction of interim measures that can help release funding to address immediate fire safety defects. A significant milestone was met with the publication in July of this year of the Code of Practice for the Remediation of Fire Safety Defects. Significant work went into that, because we need chief fire officers, engineers, etc., to detail what the appropriate works would be. This guidance is critical to support the development of a practical approach to resolving fire safety defects on an interim basis and to ensure a consistent approach nationwide.That is key to the effective operation of the remediation scheme when it becomes operational. As recently as 4 September, the Minister held a public webinar, along with the Construction Defects Alliance and the Apartment Owners Network, which was attended by approximately 400 people. He has held a number of such webinars since the Government approved the establishment of the scheme.

I am pleased to inform homeowners that the interim scheme addressing essential fire safety works is being finalised. There is now a dedicated housing remediation unit in the Department with a priority focus on developing and completing this work in as expeditious a manner as possible. The Minister has stated that this work will be completed within a matter of weeks. The Housing Agency will play a key role in implementing the interim and final schemes and has appointed a senior programme manager to co-ordinate the scheme. In fact, a meeting with residents led by that senior programme manager took place just yesterday evening. Within a matter of weeks the interim scheme will be open for applications. Work has already been done on a web portal, on which residents have been updating their details of the specific defects in their estate. This has captured a lot of useful information.

The Government understands and appreciates the frustration among people whose homes have been affected. This is only natural given that serious works need to be done. I reiterate that the Government is committed to moving this scheme forward as quickly as is practicable, given the need to respect good governance and oversight when it comes to such significant amounts of taxpayers' money.