Richard Boyd Barrett (Dún Laoghaire, People Before Profit Alliance)
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1252. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, and Local Government the estimated cost of 100 percent redress for building defects affected homes; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [46452/25]

Richard Boyd Barrett (Dún Laoghaire, People Before Profit Alliance)
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1253. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, and Local Government the estimated cost of 100 percent redress for mica affected homes; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [46453/25]

James Browne (Wexford, Fianna Fail)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 1252 and 1253 together.

There are currently three defects remediation schemes operating; namely, the Defective Concrete Blocks Grant Scheme, the Pyrite Remediation Scheme, and the Interim Remediation Scheme.

The Defective Concrete Blocks Grant Scheme applies to the owners of dwellings located in Donegal, Mayo, Clare, Limerick and Sligo which are damaged due to the use of defective concrete blocks containing excessive amounts of mica or pyrite or such other deleterious materials or combination of deleterious materials as may be prescribed.

The Pyrite Remediation Scheme was set up to remediate dwellings that have been significantly damaged as a result of pyritic heave caused by the swelling of hardcore under ground floor slabs.

The Interim Remediation Scheme funds work to fix emergency fire safety issues in apartments and duplexes that were built between 1991 and 2013.

The Remediation of Dwellings Damaged by the Use of Defective Concrete Blocks Act 2022 (the Act) commenced on 22 June 2023 which contains the grant scheme and the related Regulations were adopted on 29 June 2023.  The current scheme provides very considerable enhancements over the previous scheme for eligible homeowners.

The overall cost of the current scheme was estimated at €2.2bn. It should be noted that the scheme, as approved by the Oireachtas in the 2022 Act, is not a compensation or redress scheme, rather, it is a Remediation Grant scheme of last resort, put in place by the Government to voluntarily assist homeowners.

Initial estimates of remediation costs under the Pyrite Remediation Scheme were set out in the 2012 ‘Report of the Pyrite Panel’ in advance of the Scheme and Legislation being put in place.

A broad range of remediation costs were quoted to the Pyrite Panel, with estimates ranging from €25,000 to €80,000 per dwelling.  It was acknowledged that the final costs would depend on a number of issues, including the size of the dwelling, scale of the damage (internally and externally) and the remediation required.  Other factors such as access, layout, construction and the depth of infill would also influence the overall costs. The typical cost of remediation for an average house, as quoted to the Pyrite Panel by those who had undertaken a significant amount of such work, was estimated to be approximately €45,000. 

The total cost of remediating 2,851 pyrite affected buildings to the end of 2024 was approximately €196 million.

In its report published in July 2022, the Working Group I established to examine defects in housing estimated that the overall total cost of remediating fire safety, structural safety and water ingress defects in purpose-built apartments and duplexes built between 1991 and 2013 is likely to be within the range of €1.56 to €2.5 billion.

The Working Group estimated that the average cost of undertaking the remediation of fire safety, structural safety and water ingress defects in purpose-built apartments/duplexes constructed between 1991 and 2013 is likely to be in the region of €25,000 per apartment/duplex.  These represent all-in costs, including professional fees and Value Added Tax (VAT).  The Working Group noted that the actual cost of remediation will vary greatly between different developments and types of apartment/duplexes and depending on the various types or combinations of defects that may be encountered.