Mary Seery Kearney (Fine Gael)
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I am very grateful to the Cathaoirleach for selecting this Commencement matter. As a member of a Government party, I should be able to be out in the constituency of Dublin South-Central lauding the fact the Government has moved on an apartment and duplex remediation scheme, that it has delivered on it with Cabinet approval for it on 18 January and that the codes of practice were published back in July to give guidelines to both owners' management companies, OMCs, of buildings and the fire regulations people in the local authorities. I should be incredibly proud of that and in one sense I very much am. Certainly, the current Minister has worked hard on this. When he was a member of the Opposition, he spoke about it and all that would be delivered when he became a Minister, if he got into government. The difficulty is the people who really need the money for this are not going to get it until at least 2024 and they are told that time and time again. The Minister has had multiple online briefings with people who are affected.There are more than 100,000 such accommodations, including apartments and duplexes, around the country and it therefore affects everybody's constituency. There are complexes where they are not able to do work at this moment in time because they just do not have the money. We are in the middle of a cost-of-living crisis and have been for quite some time now. They cannot come up with some of the bills. In the likes of Park West, the bill is for €68,000.

The Minister has spoken about emergency funding, but the problem is that there is no sign of the money. The line from the movies is “show me the money” but at this stage, we have to show them the money because people are living in dangerous buildings and dangerous accommodations. We could triage them, put them on a priority list and say that the most dangerous ones should be done first, but the Government still is not underwriting the cost of this. It will do so at some point in the future, but an emergency fund is needed between now and then.

If the code of practice is followed in the implementation of this, then we will have a reference point. There is therefore no reason works that are done in accordance with the code of practice could not be certified and funded in advance. The Government could enter into an arrangement with the banks to advance the money, knowing that the Government is underwriting it. We need that level of intervention and creative, outside-of-the-box thinking to ensure the money gets where it is needed.

Every weekend, there is a report of a fire somewhere in the country. We know that from our fire services around the country. It is normal for people to go out and tend to fires. Fires occur for very simple reasons. People are living in complexes that have had an engineer’s report and are on this list. For instance, in some of them in Dublin South Central, they cannot park in the basement. They cannot store their refuse in the basement car parks that are purpose-built for this because of the potential fire hazard. People are living in multi-unit accommodations and know they are on a list of defective apartments. They cannot use the underground car park or store their refuse in the complex. They have to be out on footpaths, yet there is no sign of the money needed to carry out that remediation. The regret I have is that this is defeat plucked from the jaws of victory when it comes to the Government taking action in this regard. We need a timeline, hence I am raising this Commencement matter today.

Niall Collins (Limerick County, Fianna Fail)
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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.

Mary Seery Kearney (Fine Gael)
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I know the Minister has held a number of online briefings. I have no doubt about his commitment and that of the Government to this matter. The Taoiseach is one of the people whose apartment was affected by it. I hear a little glimmer of hope in that the interim scheme is opening very shortly or in a matter of weeks. I hope it is not just that the announcement will take place in a matter of weeks and we will still be looking at late 2024 before there will actually be money in people's hands. When there is an emergency, we need a triage system whereby this is done and produced very quickly. I would like to know that the interim scheme will actually put money in people's pockets to deal with the necessary remediation works.

Niall Collins (Limerick County, Fianna Fail)
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I again thank the Senator for raising this important issue and allowing me to assure the House of the Government's commitment to deal with the issue of defects in apartments and to assist homeowners who may find themselves in difficult financial circumstances. Progress is being made. The Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage, ably assisted by the Housing Agency and the local authority sector, has been working collaboratively to design a fit-for-purpose scheme that meets the needs of homeowners while respecting the rules of good governance. This work is almost complete in regard to an interim scheme and will ensure that funds begin to flow to those who need them.

I fully appreciate that affected homeowners want a statutory remediation scheme to be established immediately. I assure the Deputy that the Government shares that ambition but it is important to remember that this scheme will be with us for a number of years. It is important that we get this right, as I am sure all Members will agree. Our goal and main objective is to help residents get their homes and lives back together. We will do that. It will be a 100% redress scheme for affected homeowners and will be delivered in a meaningful and real way very shortly.