A 100% REDRESS scheme to deal with defective apartments around the country is badly needed, according to Sinn Féin which is tabling a motion on the issue this evening. 

Speaking to reporters at Leinster House this morning, the party’s housing spokesperson Eoin Ó Broin said the motion aims to urge the government to act in urgency.

A report commissioned by the Government found there may be defects in up to 100,000 homes built between 1991 and 2013.

The number of homes that may be affected by one or more defects could range between 50% and 80%, the report said, with the overall remediation cost likely range between €1.6 and €2.5 billion.

Owners of Celtic Tiger-era apartments with defects have called on the Government to move quickly, amid concerns that residents could be kicked out of their homes before Christmas.

Apartment owners are facing bills of around €68,000 to fix defects in their apartments.

“We need 100% redress scheme, modeled on the original pyrite scheme,” he said.

Before the issues are dealt with by legislation, funding must be available for people in multi-unit developments that have significant fire safety issues.

In addition, any scheme that is established should be retrospective so homeowners who may have paid for redress to date are able to reclaim that money back.

Ó Broin said that when the pyrite scheme was established in 2014, people could contact a board and inspectors were sent out to confirm if there were issues with the property. He said the same model should be set up. 

“And let’s be very clear, none of these homeowners are responsible for the defects. Bad practice by industry and the light touch regulation introduced by Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael is responsible,” he added.

He said Sinn Féin is proposing that the redress scheme is funded through a levy on the profit of large companies, such as cement manufacturers, construction companies, banks and others.

“The taxpayer shouldn’t have to foot this bill… unfortunately, the taxpayer is on the hook … but ultimately, industry needs to be brought to the table,” he said.

“I think the first thing a Government needs to do is sit down with industry and make it very clear to industry that the levy is coming, to discuss it with them in the first instance,” he said.

Ó’ Broin said he would hope those in industry would volunteer to pay, but if not legislation should follow. 

Tánaiste Leo Varadkar has previously said “there will have to be Government assistance for people who, through no fault of theirs, purchased apartments that are in buildings where there are defects and those defects have to be repaired”.

It is estimated that remediation works could cost between €1.7 billion and €2.8 billion.

Quarries

His comments come ahead of Feargal Ó Coigligh, Assistant Secretary of the Department of Housing appearing before the Oireachtas Housing Committee today to discuss the issue of quarries and quality controls of building materials. 

He is due to tell the committee that the department received a notification from the National Standards Authority of Ireland (NSAI) on 15 October last year regarding the withdrawal of a certificate of conformity of the factory production control for aggregate concrete masonry units from a block manufacturer in Co Donegal.

“On foot of this notification, the minister requested the national Market
Surveillance Office, in partnership with Donegal County Council and with the support of Geological Survey Ireland, to carry out an audit of all quarries in
Donegal to evaluate relevant economic operators’ compliance with the
Construction Products Regulation when placing relevant construction products
(aggregate concrete blocks and/or aggregates for use in concrete products) on
the market,” he says in his opening statement.

The minister received this report on the 30 November and is giving it his full consideration, the committee will be told. 

Ó Coigligh states that while much work has been undertaken to strengthen the regulatory framework to ensure that products from extractive industries comply with the provisions of the Construction Products Regulation, the Housing Department acknowledges that there is more to do in the context of the findings of the audit report and the broader
Programme for Government commitments.