Robbie Gallagher (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the Minister of State back to the House. This matter relates to defective apartment blocks and where exactly matters stand in that regard.

In January 2023, the Government announced its approval of draft legislation to support the remediation of apartments and duplexes constructed between 1991 and 2013 and affected by fire safety, structural safety and water ingress issues. It is estimated that between 50% and 80% of all apartments and duplexes constructed in Ireland during that period may be affected, which is staggering. Only properties with defects that are attributed to defective design, defective or faulty workmanship, defective materials or any combination of these and that were in contravention of the relevant parts of the building regulations applicable at the time of construction will be eligible for inclusion in this scheme. The final cost of the overall scheme is estimated to be somewhere in the region of €2.5 billion, which is today's figure. This money will be paid to owner-management companies to carry out these works.

On 11 December 2023, an interim remediation scheme was launched to cater for any apartments or duplexes with fire safety issues. I understand that the interim scheme, as it was referred to, has been stalled as a result of procurement issues. The Minister of State might let us know where matters stand in that regard.

At the end of March of this year, 201 applications had been received and were validated as meeting the required eligibility criteria. These applications represent 19,305 residential units or, as they are for many people, homes located in 28 local authority areas. Circa 77% of these homes are in the Dublin region. This is a serious issue. When it comes to fire safety, we cannot afford to hang around because there is a health and safety issue at stake here for the occupants. The last thing we want is that anything untoward might happen. I would be grateful for an update in relation to the interim scheme.

For many owner-occupiers, these units are their homes. Many of these apartments, particularly in areas outside of the major cities, are still in negative equity, even at today's values, which most people would say are extreme. Many apartments in provincial towns, even at the market level today, are priced probably at half of what the owners paid when they purchased them in 2007 or 2008.

I would like if the Minister of State could tell me where the statutory scheme stands, assure me and the many people who are living in these apartments that this matter is treated with a sense of urgency and indicate when we can expect the scheme to be fully up and running in the context of the various defects by which these people's homes are affected.