Kevin Moran (Longford-Westmeath, Independent)

I thank the Senator for raising this important matter. The voluntary homeowners relocation scheme was introduced by the Government in 2017 to address the very serious flooding of those homes that flooded in the winter of 2015-16, including those homes flooded by turloughs. This is a national scheme of humanitarian assistance, targeting aid at the worst-affected properties, for which there are no alternative feasible measures.

To be eligible for assistance under this once-off scheme, a homeowner must meet a number of conditions, including that floodwater entered and damaged the building during, or as a result of, flooding during relevant dates such as to render it uninhabitable and that there is no viable engineering solution that could protect the building from future flooding. At all times, participation in the scheme by homeowners is voluntary. The property occupied by the homeowners referred to by the Senator was identified by the local authority as having flooded during the relevant flood event of 2015-16. The property has a history of flooding as a result of fluvial flooding during extreme rain events which causes the stream adjacent to the property to burst its banks and an engineering solution is not viable.

In line with the provisions of the scheme, an offer of financial assistance was made to the homeowners in 2022 which provided for three options: the purchase of a new or replacement home, the construction of a new home on a site they own, or the purchase of a site and construction of a new home on that site. The offer of assistance accepted by the homeowners was based on the maximum allowance for the purchase or construction of a replacement dwelling house that can be offered, by reference to the local authority acquisition cost guidelines and unit cost ceilings issued by the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage as of quarter 2 of 2021. It also included an additional amount in respect of legal, demolition and other costs, in line with the provisions of the scheme.

In light of rising construction costs and house prices since the original agreement with the homeowners in March 2022, the Office of Public Works, OPW, made a number of revised offers of financial assistance in 2023 and in 2024. These revised offers of financial assistance reflected updated local authority acquisition cost guidelines and unit cost ceilings issued by the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage which were applicable at the time of the revised offers. This has ensured that the best offer could be made at those points in time, within the provisions of the scheme.

Similar revised offers were made to other applicants under the scheme, who have managed to successfully complete their home relocation. Unfortunately, this has not been the case for the homeowners in question. The homeowners have recently communicated with the OPW to inform it that they have been unable to secure a replacement home since the last offer of assistance was accepted by them on 18 June 2024 and have requested additional financial assistance to purchase a replacement property. The OPW will assess this request having regard to the most recent updated local authority acquisition cost guidelines and determine whether an increased offer can be made.