Dáil Éireann Debate, Monday - 11 September 2023
824. Deputy Cian O'Callaghan asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage whether the fire safety defects scheme will be expanded to include buildings constructed prior to 1991; what supports are available for homeowners where their apartment building suffers from considerable fire safety defects but was built prior to 1991; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [37368/23]
View answer829. Deputy Ivana Bacik asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage if apartments built before 1991 will be included in the construction defects remediation scheme; if so, how applicants living in apartments built before 1991 can register their interest in the scheme; and, if not, the rationale for excluding such apartments. [37426/23]
View answerI propose to take Questions Nos. 824 and 829 together.
In response to the defects that came to light in apartments and duplexes primarily built during the Celtic Tiger era, I established a Working Group to Examine Defects in Housing. The report of this Working Group was published in July 2022 and is available at www.gov.ie/en/publication/97c19-working-group-to-examine-defects-in-housing/. The Working Group’s terms of reference, which were agreed and adopted by the group itself, focused on fire safety, structural safety and water ingress defects in purpose-built apartment buildings, including duplexes, constructed between 1991 and 2013. These dates generally coincide with the introduction of Building Regulations in 1991 and the Building Control (Amendment) Regulations in 2014.
Following on from the Working Group’s report, in January of this year I received Government approval 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.
In relation to buildings constructed before 1991, the provisions of the Fire Services Acts apply and the Guide to Fire Safety in Flats, Bedsitters and Apartments was published in 1994 to assist persons in discharging their statutory responsibilities for flats under the Fire Services Acts. This guide is available at www.gov.ie/en/publication/3003c-guide-to-fire-safety-in-flats-bedsitters-and-apartments-1994/.
