Cian O'Callaghan (Dublin Bay North, Social Democrats)
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199. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, and Local Government if there are any safeguards or protections in place to ensure that when residential properties with very serious fire safety defects are sold, the prospective buyers are made aware of these defects; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [22251/23]

Darragh O'Brien (Dublin Fingal, Fianna Fail)
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Obtaining appropriate professional and legal advice continues to form part of the due diligence that a person should undertake when considering the purchase of a property.  

Separate to this, work is underway in my Department to draft legislation to establish supports for the remediation of fire safety, structural safety and water ingress defects in purpose-built apartment buildings, including duplexes, constructed between 1991 and 2013.  Since receipt of Government approval in January of this year, I have been working to progress the various programmes of work that are required to place the remediation scheme on a statutory footing.  A key aspect of this work is developing a Code of Practice in the context of the Fire Services Acts, to provide guidance to relevant professionals, including guidance on interim safety measures.

The scheme will provide for a form of certification, based on a Code of Practice, in relation to the works carried out to remediate defects in an apartment/duplex building. This is important for a range of stakeholders and processes, for example, insurance bodies, financial institutions, and conveyancing.