Eoin Ó Broin
Question:49. Deputy Eoin Ó Broin asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage if provision will be made in budget 2021 for a latent defects redress scheme. [28368/20]
View answerTuesday, 6 October 2020
Questions (49)
Written answers
Firstly, I would like to acknowledge the very stressful circumstances which owners and residents face when their homes are affected by construction defects.
In general, building defects are matters for resolution between the contracting parties involved, the homeowner, the builder, the developer and/or their respective insurers, structural guarantee or warranty scheme.
However, the Programme for Government 2020 (PFG) sets out a number of commitments in respect of the important policy area of defects which my Department is actively engaging with all key stakeholders on.
The remediation of dwellings affected by reactive pyrite in hardcore and defective concrete blocks is a priority in the PFG. By end of 2020, approximately €150 million will have been spent remediating some 2200 dwellings since 2014. I have recently extended the pyrite remediation scheme to include the administrative area of Limerick City and County Council.
The Defective Concrete Blocks Grants Scheme opened for applications at the end of June, 2020 and applications received to date are being processed by Donegal and Mayo County Councils.
In relation to other housing defects, I met with a number of stakeholder representative groups in July and again last week. My Department is currently preparing to set up the structures to examine the issue of defective housing, in line with the commitment in the programme for government.