Eoin Ó Broin (Dublin Mid West, Sinn Fein)
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227. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, and Local Government to provide an update on the publication of the general scheme, or full Bill, to underpin the Celtic Tiger-era building defects remediation scheme. [27080/24]

Eoin Ó Broin (Dublin Mid West, Sinn Fein)
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228. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, and Local Government the position regarding the provision of emergency funding for buildings with Celtic Tiger-era building defects, including the number of schemes that have applied; the number of applications approved; and the number of schemes that have drawn down funding, providing all of this information broken down by local authority area, in tabular form. [27081/24]

Darragh O'Brien (Dublin Fingal, Fianna Fail)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 227 and 228 together.

Since receipt of Government approval in January 2023, I have been working to progress the various programmes of work that are required to place on a statutory footing the scheme 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.

A general scheme of the proposed Bill in numbered heads has been prepared. It is expected that the draft legislation will be published this year and that, subject to the legislative process, the statutory scheme will be in place shortly thereafter. While this legislation is being worked on as a matter of priority, sufficient time is required for drafting in order to ensure that the scheme is fit for purpose, provides value for tax payers' money and contains appropriate oversight and governance measures.

In December 2023, I announced the opening of the Interim Remediation Scheme for Fire Safety Defects in Apartments and Duplexes. This scheme, which is being managed by The Housing Agency on behalf of my Department, provides for the funding of emergency fire safety defect works in order to provide an acceptable level of fire safety in buildings pending completion of the full remedial works. Apartments and duplexes built between 1991 and 2013 with eligible defects qualify for the scheme, which is open to applications from apartment Owner Management Companies (OMCs) via The Housing Agency’s website, and can be accessed at the following link: www.housingagency.ie/interim-remediation-scheme-fire-safety-defects-eligible-apartments-and-duplexes-2023.

As of end May 2024, the Interim Remediation Scheme has received a total of 269 applications for fire safety remediation work; of these, 154 applications have been successfully validated, meeting the required eligibility criteria, and are being progressed across 31 local authority areas, representing a total of 15,743 residential units. No OMCs have yet drawn down funding. A breakdown of figures by local authority area is attached.

Overall Total: December 2023 to May 2024