Vol. 1032 No. 3
87. Deputy Pádraig O'Sullivan asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the number of people who have applied for the vacant property refurbishment grant; if he plans any more changes to the terms and conditions of the grant; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [3427/23]
96. Deputy David Stanton asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the overall amount available in 2022 and 2023 for the vacant properties refurbishment grant as part of the Croí Cónaithe towns fund; the amount made available for each local authority; the amount drawn down to date by each local authority; the number of applications per local authority completed; the further number being considered; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [2853/23]
108. Deputy Jim O'Callaghan asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage if he will provide a report on the operation of the Croí Cónaithe scheme; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [3559/23]
132. Deputy Brendan Griffin asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the levels of take-up to date on the various Croí Cónaithe strands in each local authority area; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [3663/23]
157. Deputy Aindrias Moynihan asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the number for each Cork local authority of Croí Cónaithe applicants, in tabular form; the number of approved applicants; if they are vacant or derelict properties; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [3401/23]
159. Deputy Alan Farrell asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage if he will provide an update on the Croí Cónaithe vacant property refurbishment grant; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [3545/23]
I wish to ask the Minister about the scheme for the vacant property refurbishment grant. Does he plan any more changes to the terms and conditions of the grant?
I propose to take Questions Nos. 87, 96, 108, 132, 157 and 159 together.
Tackling vacancy is a key priority for this Government. Housing for All, the Government's housing strategy, sets out a blueprint to address vacancy and make efficient use of our existing housing stock. Many areas of cities, towns and villages of all sizes face the blight of vacant properties which, if brought back into use, could add real vibrancy and provide new accommodation in those areas. The Croí Cónaithe towns fund is a key initiative which underpins these policy objectives set out in pathway 4 of Housing for All, and I welcome the opportunity to provide a brief update in respect of the fund.
In July 2022, I launched the vacant property refurbishment grant as part of the Croí Cónaithe towns fund. The grant benefits those who wish to turn a formerly vacant house or building into their principal private residence, making it their home. When I launched the grant, it was in respect of vacant properties in towns and villages. The initial response was very positive. To maximise the number of vacant properties which could be brought back into use, I announced the expansion of the grant to include eligible vacant properties in both cities and rural areas from 15 November 2022.
A grant of up to a maximum of €30,000 is available for the refurbishment of vacant properties for occupation as principal private residences, including the conversion of a property that has not previously been used as residential. Where the refurbishment costs are expected to exceed this amount, a maximum top-up grant of €20,000 is available where the property is confirmed to be derelict. This brings the total grant available for a derelict property up to a maximum of €50,000.
Feedback on the vacant property refurbishment grant has been positive since its launch, with 760 applications nationwide reported to the end of December. I expect the numbers will increase further following the expansion of the grant.
The ready to build scheme was launched on 21 September. It is also funded by the Croí Cónaithe towns fund. Under this scheme, local authorities will make serviced sites in towns and villages available to potential individual purchasers for building their homes. These sites will be available at a discount on their market value. My Department is engaging with each local authority in respect of sites that might be suitable for the scheme.
My Department is monitoring how both schemes are operating and engaging with the vacant homes officers who have been appointed in each local authority. Data in respect of these schemes are being collated and verified and will shortly be published on my Department's website on a quarterly basis. They will include county-level breakdowns. In 2022, there was no allocation limit set for individual local authorities in respect of the schemes, as it was anticipated that the actual drawdown would be low at the start while the schemes were getting up and running. In 2023, €24 million is available for the schemes and we will keep the question of allocations under review and monitor drawdowns. My Department will be keeping the schemes more generally under continual review, and it is intended that a comprehensive review and evaluation of the Croí Cónaithe towns fund will be undertaken by mid-2024.
Acknowledging the administrative overheads involved in delivering both schemes, my Department is providing project management support funding of between €60,000 and €180,000 to each local authority for their delivery. In 2022, €1.38 million was provided to 21 local authorities that applied for this funding.
The most efficient home to deliver is the one that already exists. Under Croí Cónaithe, these schemes can play a vital role in delivering homes and revitalising local communities.
A number of Deputies have indicated, starting with Deputy Pádraig O'Sullivan.
I thank the Minister of State for his response. I commend him, his predecessor, the Minister of State, Deputy Burke, and the Minister, Deputy O'Brien, on this scheme. I have seen it working in my local authority area. However, I wish to ask a number of questions to establish the facts.
I thank the Minister of State for the figures he provided. As with any scheme, there will initially be a certain period before the scheme kicks in properly. I hope 2023 will see a marked improvement in the number of applicants. Will the Minister of State clarify something? I believe he said there were 760 applications. How many of those were successful? This is a positive scheme and I encourage more people to take it up, but will the Minister of State clarify whether he is likely to amend it further, for example, the income thresholds or other criteria? Is such a review ongoing in the Department?
I thank the Minister of State for his response. Has he any idea of how many vacant homes there are per county? Some work has been done in this regard in County Cork. Does the Minister of State agree that having one full-time vacant homes officer in each county is a good thing? For a county the size of Cork, though, does he also agree with its chief executive's recent statement that one full-time officer would be needed per town to make the scheme effective? There is one officer in County Louth, another in County Waterford and one in County Cork, yet County Cork is four, five or six times the size of some other counties. Does the Minister of State agree a county like Cork should have many more vacant homes officers to make this scheme work and have an impact? There are many vacant and derelict homes around the country that need to be used.
I echo Deputy Stanton's comments. The resourcing of local authorities is a crucial component in the success of Croí Cónaithe. I welcome the fund. I acknowledge the work of the Minister, the previous Minister of State in this role, Deputy Burke, and the Minister of State, Deputy Noonan. I congratulate the Minister of State, Deputy O'Donnell, on his appointment and wish him the best of luck for the future.
We must resource local authorities in terms of the manpower needed to roll this out, but another crucial component will be awareness. I discussed this matter with my local authority in Kerry prior to Christmas. It was expecting to get financing to try to create awareness of Croí Cónaithe's various strands among prospective property owners. Will the Minister of State update the House on whether there will be money for local authorities with the specific aim of increasing general awareness of Croí Cónaithe among prospective homeowners in particular?
Using properties that are vacant and making them available for housing is a constructive idea. I welcome the Croí Cónaithe scheme and the approach it is taking. There are vacant properties in towns and villages across the country. In Macroom, there are vacant properties in the Dunnes Stores apartments, which have been unoccupied since they were built in 2004. Locals are frustrated that these apartments are not available for people to live in. Every effort should be made to make them available.
There is a good level of interest in making applications to the scheme. The Minister of State referred to a figure of 760. I hope there will be many more, and people are inquiring about it at my office. Is the Minister of State setting a target with each local authority for how quickly applications are processed so that people who are interested in taking part will know how soon they can get access to the funding and do the requisite work? Are the local authorities achieving those targets?
Vacant properties are important, given that we need houses. In 2018 and 2022, planning exemptions allowed some developers to take on vacant buildings. I am speaking about Carlow. This matter is important in terms of beneficial housing schemes. When making compulsory purchase orders, CPOs, on properties and trying to develop them, local authorities are getting caught up in red tape. A high-profile unit in the historic heart of Carlow town centre has come under the Part 8 process and the exemption does not apply. Refurbishment of the unit under Government policy will effectively be delayed by at least two years.
In 2022, Carlow met its targets by delivering eight schemes. In 2023, Carlow has to deliver 28 schemes to meet its targets, each scheme demanding a full Part 8 package - tendering, procurement, supervision etc. This is stretching the technical team's ability to deliver. Can we set the bar for planning for all developments, public and private, at the same level? A few simple amendments to Part 8 would escalate town centre first projects and accelerate delivery. I am aware of the Minister of State's dedication and commitment to town centres and vacant properties.
The Minister of State has quite a number of questions to deal with there.
Yes. That five Deputies contributed shows how relevant and important the Croí Cónaithe scheme is. I will take them in order. Starting with Deputy O'Sullivan, Croí Cónaithe has no income threshold, so people can-----
Will the Minister of State consider increasing the grant ceiling?
We are keeping the Croí Cónaithe scheme under constant review. There has been a significant uptake so far, with 716 applications nationwide. In Cork county, 84 people had applied to the end of December. In Cork city, four had applied. The scheme is immensely successful. We want to get it bedded down and to encourage people to apply for it. Even if there is considerable interest, there will not be an issue with capital. The Minister will be able to go to the Cabinet and get extra capital funding.
Deputy Stanton's point about vacant homes officers was a good and valid one. We would ask local authorities to apply directly to the Department for additional vacant homes officers. We would look positively on that. We want this scheme to work. We would welcome any suggestion of a positive nature.
Deputy Griffin spoke about resourcing local authorities. In Kerry, there were 60 applications to the end of the year.
There is huge take-up. It was very much in the same vein as the vacant homes officers. Ask Kerry County Council, Cork County Council and any other local authorities that wish to apply. If they need additional vacant homes officers, the Department will look on such requests favourably in terms of funding.
Deputy Aindrias Moynihan spoke about targets. This scheme has just been rolled out. There has been a huge take-up in a relatively short time. The scheme will bed down. We will be interacting with the local authorities to see how they are doing. In a relatively short time, we will be setting targets in terms of a processing time. The key is that the local authorities in the main appear to have been highly efficient in the way they have processed the applications, in that they have come back in such a short period.
Deputy Murnane O'Connor spoke about a specific Part 8 scheme. Our schemes are about ensuring we can bring properties back into residential use. I ask the Deputy to forward the details of that scheme to the Department and we will look at it in great detail.
Brilliant.
I think that covers the range of issues that were brought up.
This is a great scheme. We want this scheme to work. We want to work in tandem with local authorities. The Deputies, as public representatives on the ground, are a key element of this. If there are any tweaks that are required to the scheme, funding is not an issue here. We want take-up. The town centre first policy is all about that, namely, bringing properties back into use. Returning to the key point, the easiest property to bring back into use is an existing building.
I thank the Minister of State for his response. In fairness, the Minister of State is speaking plain language. We appreciate the direct responses as well.
It is disappointing to see that Cork city has only had four successful approvals but as I said, the scheme-----
No, applications.
I apologise, applications. However, the scheme is in its early days. Hopefully, that will improve.
Can the Minister of State give us a county-by-county breakdown of the figures he has at a later date? I do not expect the Minister of State to have them to hand. I refer to applications and the number of them that have been successfully approved.
To follow-on from Deputy Stanton's question on vacant home officers, if he has the figures can the Minister of State clarify whether they all have been employed at this stage across each local authority or how many vacancies still exist?
I thank the Minister of State for his response with respect to the fact that local authorities can apply to the Department for more funding to appoint more full-time vacant homes officers. I stress the word "full-time", that they do not do any other job but that, and that would be a condition of this. In the past, I was told they had ten other jobs and this was the bottom of the list.
We need these officers to go out there and to tap on the shoulders of people who own houses that are empty and properties that are derelict, and invite them to talk and let us get this up and running. Would the Minister of State confirm that if Cork County Council applies to the Department for, say, one officer in each municipal district, of which there are eight, ten or 12, that application would be looked on favourably?
I emphasise it is important that there would be a budget to create awareness of the scheme and the various differences between the strands of the scheme. That is something that local authorities should be able to tap into to put the scheme out there. That will help take-up.
On a related vein, and something I previously raised on a number of occasions, I ask the Minister and the Ministers of State to again engage with the utility companies, for example, ESB Networks, in relation to reconnection fees. These fees are quite punitive. It is yet another barrier. These will be future customers for these companies anyway and there surely should be a better way for people to reconnect old properties to the grid without being charged so much upfront. Can the Department examine that as one less expense people will have, as well as the fees regarding water connections or reconnections, which are another expense? I could say a great deal about the taxation code, about VAT and about different costs in relation to insulation and other costs as well, but those are ones that could be quick wins.
First, I thank the Minister of State for the various details on the scheme. I acknowledge it is a constructive and positive scheme and is only on the go for a number of months at this point.
There is good interest. People have been inquiring about it in my office. There are many inquiries locally on it.
On the figure of 84 for Cork county, can the Minister of State give a breakdown of how many are approved at this point? The figures the Minister of State has given are for applications. When people are applying on those, they want to get on with doing the job. Having a clear timeline on how quickly one will have the funds available is important for people who want to plan to do the works and get into the house. Have many of them been drawn down at this point? If the Minister of State has details on that, I would be interested. As this scheme is also available for rural homes, I would be interested in whether the Minister of State can give an indication of how many are in the towns or in the rural areas.
I thank the Minister of State. I will provide those details to him. I will be looking for the figures from the Minister of State for Carlow and of course for Kilkenny, in addition to those on rural homes, as previous speakers have requested. We are here today because it is such an important and welcome scheme. We have a housing crisis and all the Deputies are in a position where they are trying to get as many houses or buildings up and running as they can. I am looking for that information.
Going through the questions in the order raised, in response to Deputy Pádraig O'Sullivan, the Croí Cónaithe scheme only came in for the cities in November. Certainly, we are only looking at the period to the end of December and it is a short timescale in terms of Cork city.
I refer to the vacant homes officers. Deputy Stanton raised it as well. If Cork county, Cork city or any local authority makes a business case - it is about volume and about making a business case to the Department - it would be favourably received. As a Department, we have to look at applications in terms of their credibility but at this stage the Department stands receptive to receive these business cases for additional vacant homes officers, and the case in terms of them being full time. There are people out there who have huge knowledge, for instance, former rates collectors. The Deputy knows the people; they are there.
Deputy Griffin sought a public awareness campaign. There is now a vacant homes unit specifically set up in the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage for the first time. They are now embarking on a nationwide public awareness campaign. I would have thought that they will feed into the local authorities on that and that will bring great clarity on it.
The Deputy makes a valid point in terms of dealing with the utility companies on reconnections. We will take that up with the vacant homes unit within the Department to interact with the utility companies to come up with a protocol in terms of reconnections. With old buildings, we all know how long it takes. That is a valid point.
Deputy Aindrias Moynihan asked about the breakdown. Once again, in terms of Cork county, the rural scheme only got up and running in November. The number there, obviously, would be very tight but it is something that we can look at.
We have not precise figures broken down per county or local authority area. Roughly, 20% of applications at this stage are going through the system and have been virtually approved. There shows reasonable efficiency within the local authorities.
To give Deputy Murnane O'Connor the figures, Carlow had six applications up to the end of December. Kilkenny, which the Deputy represents as well, had 18. The Minister of State, Deputy Malcolm Noonan, representing in the same constituency, is obviously keen that this would be pushed. The type of detail the Deputy is looking for will be published quarterly and if there is additional detail that the Deputy would like to see included, let the Deputy make us aware so that we can do so. This scheme is very much up and running.
This is a scheme I am very excited about. It is a scheme the public will engage with. We need this. This is all about a town centred approach, bringing homes back into use for families and other people.
88. Deputy Willie O'Dea asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage with regard to the scheme for the remediation of defects in apartments and duplexes, the procedures that are in place if a homeowner wants to undertake remediation works but other homeowners in a housing complex do not; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [3534/23]
101. Deputy Paul Murphy asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage if he will provide a detailed timeline for the completion of works under the defects scheme; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [3657/23]
103. Deputy Seán Haughey asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage if he will outline the proposed approach to support remediation of defects in apartments and duplexes; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [3518/23]
114. Deputy Paul Murphy asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage if he will provide details of the developments to be covered by the defects scheme and an approximate timeline on when each development will be remediated; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [3658/23]
138. Deputy Jackie Cahill asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the amount of financial support that will be available under the scheme for the remediation of defects in apartments and duplexes; if homeowners who have done remediation works will be entitled to retrospective financial support under the scheme for the remediation of defects in apartments and duplexes; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [3675/23]
158. Deputy Rose Conway-Walsh asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage if the recently announced Celtic tiger building defects redress scheme will apply retrospectively; if the same terms will be extended to homeowners in County Mayo and other counties effected by mica and pyrite; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [3718/23]
161. Deputy James Lawless asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage if he will outline the person or body that will be eligible for financial support with remediation works in apartments and duplexes; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [3711/23]
220. Deputy Michael Ring asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage if homes in rural Ireland will be included in his recently announced proposals (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [3762/23]
We have a substitution request. Deputy Lawless will introduce Question No. 88 on behalf of Deputy O'Dea.
At the outset I acknowledge the good work done by the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage, Deputy Darragh O'Brien, and his team, the Minister of State and the Department in introducing this scheme which is badly needed. It has been some years or indeed decades in the making. It is delivering a programme for Government commitment so I acknowledge that and really welcome it. It follows on from the mica scheme where similar relief was provided and extends that to urban areas and duplexes, etc. Initially I suppose-----
The Deputy has 30 seconds remaining.
Yes. The devil is always in the detail and there are a couple of questions my colleagues and I have. My question at the outset is that there are scenarios, and I have come across them myself, where in a multi-unit development one or more owners want to progress works and other owners say they are okay and stand back. How does that get addressed both practically and in terms of within the scheme?
I have a second question and I do not know if I will get to it later. How does that work?
We will bring in the Minister who has six minutes to respond.
I propose to take Questions Nos. 88, 101, 103, 114, 138, 158, 161 and 220 together.
I thank all the Deputies for their questions and the number of Deputies asking shows how important this matter is in relation to legacy defects. I know Deputies of all parties and none have been working hard on this.
We know there are significant legacy defects in a large number of apartments and duplexes and as a result many owners of apartments and duplexes face really difficult and dire financial situations alongside, and we cannot forget this, the personal stress they undergo on a daily basis that is caused when defects arise in their buildings. The Government and I are absolutely committed to helping those whose lives have been impacted by this issue. The programme for Government sets out a number of commitments in respect of this important policy area of addressing building defects. These include a commitment to examine defects in housing, having regard to the matters at hand. In this regard I did receive Government approval on 18 January last to draft legislation to support the remediation of fire safety, structural safety and water ingress defects in purpose-built apartment buildings including duplexes constructed between 1991 and 2013. I established a working group within two months of my appointment as Minister. The working group did superb work and that involved all stakeholders and again I want to commend in particular the residents, the Construction Defects Alliance and the Apartment Owners Network for their incredible work. Others, such as the Society of Chartered Surveyors Ireland, SCSI, and the local authorities really fed into this. For the first time we have a significant survey of the scale of the defects. Some 28,000 homes were surveyed for the work we did. The working group report came to me at the end of July, I brought it to Cabinet in September and then I brought forward recommendations last week.
It will be a fully-funded scheme. It has to be on a full building basis. That is one of the challenges. The funding has to go to the owner-management company. With an apartment block, particularly in the area of fire defects, but also water ingress and structural issues, one cannot just do three quarters of the apartments in the block. All of them have to be done. I am optimistic about is that around 12% of apartments and duplexes have already been done. Where residents and owner-management companies found they had very serious issues they went ahead and they remediated and they are carrying the cost of that. On the Government decision I sought on 18 January, I can again confirm to the Dáil that costs already incurred will be covered under the scheme for certified work. That is important that it is certified in the overall context of the scheme.
We are looking at between 62,500 and up to 100,000 units. Around 32% of these apartments are already in the process of getting work done or are about to contract it. I want to say to people to go ahead and do that work and not to delay. There are very serious issues relating to people's safety as well. Those costs will be covered on a full-building basis and fully funded also. We will stand the scheme up and it will take most of this year to get the legislation and regulation together about the workings of this scheme. The Housing Agency will be centrally involved in this also and we will utilise the expertise it brings in the area of mica defective block and also pyrite and infill. We will resource the local authorities. The local authority fire services will carry out the surveys and certify works also. I want to move this on but it is important for residents to know that this Government has their back on this and we want this work to continue. I will work with all members of the Dáil and Seanad to try to expedite the legislation as quickly as possible. This scheme will be with us for a few years and as with mica and defective block we need to get it right. Right now people can proceed, it is fully funded and we are committed to ensuring home owners not only get their homes remediated but have an opportunity to get their lives back on track. I have engaged directly with them also and was at a webinar recently with over 400 members of different management companies right across the country advising of what I will bring forward, which I have done. It is something I have seen in my area of Dublin-Fingal. I have friends, constituents and I know people across the country who have been affected by this. We will move apace on this and we welcome the input of all Deputies who have shown an interest in this already.
If I could say in the interests of the House, we received this morning, and it is a pity Deputy O'Callaghan is not here, the CSO figures for the housing completion figures for last year. We are talking about the first year of Housing for All. Last year, 29,851 homes were completed in 2022 which is significantly above the target the Government set of 24,600. We completed 9,184 in quarter four, a 31% increase on 2022. They are the highest figures for a quarter since the CSO began collating them in 2011. The increase in completions is 45% up on 2021. Housing for All is taking hold and in areas of new-build we can see that and we are as committed to tackling and grasping the nettle in relation to defects, both in apartments and duplexes and in relation to defective block in parts of our country also.
A number of Members have submitted two questions. Deputy Lawless has two similar questions and is entitled to two minutes as a supplementary, as it Deputy Paul Murphy.
I thank the Minister for the outline of the scheme and indeed for the scheme itself which is very welcome. On one of the more positive aspects, as he has mentioned, I was concerned as to the retrospective application where some owners may have gone out on a limb and at their own cost, their own time and dime as they say. It may have been a struggle to do so but they took action themselves. It is very fair and right that they are included and that there is a retrospective application. I welcome that.
One of my questions, and I have experienced it myself in assisting homeowners, is where there are common areas, a shared terrace or roof or fire walling, boundary walls etc. that are impacted. I am not sure how the scheme applies to where homeowner one says they want to invoke the scheme and engage and homeowner two for whatever reason says they do not want workers coming in and are happy as they are. It seems a bit difficult and I am not sure how that is envisaged in the scheme.
Another question is in terms of a point of contact. There is an agency being established and I know the legislation still has to go through the Houses but who do people contact at this stage or in the near future if they have issues and want to begin to engage? They are two practical questions.
It is really important, and I know this is in the scheme, but what is the detail to ensure it does not happen again? We have seen bad practices and bad history play out of the last couple of decades and in the lifetime of the scheme and even before and probably after the period 1991 to 2013. What do we do to prevent it happening again? I know there are very welcome things like a register of tradesmen, but what about recourse? The Exchequer is on the hook all the time it seems for the remediation schemes and it is right the State should step in as a guarantor of last resort but what about the people who actually built these buildings, who developed them, worked on them, funded them, financed them and who advised on them? There were architects, consultants, planners, etc. What is the recourse to them, to say they did the crime now do the time? How does that work and is it envisaged as part of this funding?
All of the apartment and duplex owners I am in touch with were very happy to see that a scheme was announced. They have been campaigning for this for a long time as the only just and workable solution. They were also struck by the lack of detail and we still have a lack of detail today and they know, unfortunately, that the people affected by mica were promised a 100% redress scheme more than a year ago and they are still waiting for that and in reality the small print of that scheme means that it will be substantially less than 100%. They are determined to stand together with everybody. Everybody affected by defects needs to be given 100% redress and then we need to go after the people responsible.
I have a few questions on the details. First, when will the further details be announced? Separate to the legislation, the Minister can outline how it is going to work in much more detail than has been done so far. Second, I take the Minister's point that people should not delay. They should continue. There are serious safety issues and work must be done. Emergency funding was mentioned. Can that be rolled out quicker? It will cost people who need to get work done in an apartment block €20,000 per person. Most people cannot afford this. As it currently stands, that is still not going to happen because most people will not be able to afford it. Therefore, emergency measures must be put in place whereby owners' management companies, OMCs, can access funds. For example, there could be a short-term scheme of the Housing Finance Agency giving low-cost or zero-interest loans to OMCs knowing they will get the money back from the scheme in the future. That would mean works could proceed. I got a text from a person who received a threatening lawyer's letter from an agency saying the person had to pay up. For things such as this, it is still not going to work.
How will things other than fire defects be judged? Will defective balconies be included? I refer to houses in estates that were built at the same time as apartments and duplexes and are affected by the same sort of issues. Will, for example, balconies also be included in this scheme?
Question No. 158 is on retrospectiveness. I very much welcomed the Minister when he said retrospectiveness would be considered in the building defects redress scheme, as did the people in Mayo and Donegal. I want to tease that out further with the Minister. He said earlier that it was provided the work was certified. Will he better explain what we need to do? We need to give homeowners, with whom I spoke this morning, guidance as to how they can prepare in terms of the audit trail that might be needed. We are only talking about a very small number of houses. We have fought for the inclusion of retrospectiveness for years, as has the Minister's colleague in Mayo, the Minister of State, Deputy Calleary. We are very much at one with this. We want to get it right and for homeowners to be prepared and have everything ready for when it is available.
I thank the Deputies for their questions which I will go through starting with Deputy Conway-Walsh, if the other Deputies do not mind. As I mentioned earlier, and as I discussed with both the Minister, Deputy McConalogue, and the Minister of State, Deputy Calleary, a very small number of properties under the defective concrete block scheme may have had work done already. What I said about certification is that a qualified engineer has to certify that the work is of a required standard, that it is invoiced correctly and that a paper trail in relation to that work being done exists. We are finalising the regulations on the defective concrete block scheme. I will engage with residents through the homeowner liaison next week to show them the draft regulations in the Deputy's own county, in Donegal and other affected counties.
It is a national scheme. It was recently said on RTÉ that there were counties that were locked out of this scheme. That is absolutely not the case. The legislation we passed in the Dáil provides for other counties to be added by way of regulation. For example, we added County Clare under the old scheme, which an Cathaoirleach Gníomhach, Deputy Carey, is well aware and for which he campaigned. The scheme is open. The local authority will put the submission together and say, for example, that it has 30 homes in Wexford. That submission comes to us and we will assess it and add them to the scheme. We will work through that in the coming weeks. I want the regulations on defective concrete blocks published by the end of February, subject to all the stakeholders agreeing.
I will go in reverse order and in response to Deputy Paul Murphy's question, there is a very good document on frequently asked questions, FAQs, which I sent to many of the OMCs, about what happens next. What I will do is establish an implementation group, which worked well on defective concrete blocks, to work through these issues, particularly emergency funding. I am not closed to that at all. In some areas, we allowed that in the defective concrete block scheme such as for immediate safety issues. I do not envisage the use of loans, to be honest. I do not want to complicate it too much. It will take us a year to get this through. I expect legislation will take a year to progress. I will do it as quickly as possible. I will ask for the co-operation of Opposition Deputies. Indeed, Government Deputies have been heavily engaged in this. The scheme is fully funded.
In respect of Deputy Lawless's question, some 12% of apartments and duplexes have been remediated and one third are in the process of this. We may from time to time come across a person who does not want to engage with that. However, all common areas are included in this because one cannot remediate an apartment block without dealing with its common areas and we are going to do that. We have some experience of that in the context of pyrite in infill. There could be an investor living abroad who does not want to engage but we get through it. It relates to a very small percentage of cases.
On legal recourse, I am establishing a senior counsel review. Fundamentally, the reason this is happening is because of very poor workmanship and, in some instances, bad materials. Those who were responsible know who they are. They have a moral responsibility to contribute to the scheme. I am looking at legal avenues - it will not be easy; it will be complex - as to how we could seek recompense in that area. There has been a market failure. As a Deputy who represents an area that has been plagued by defects such as these and pyrite before that, I believe the State must step in on behalf of its citizens. All these citizens, be they in Mayo, Donegal, north Dublin or Kildare, are taxpayers. It is a good use of the resources we have. It is important for people to get their lives back on track.
On a point already raised, I want people to continue to work they are doing. The implementation group will be established very soon. I will meet homeowner representatives next week to structure that within my Department, work through some of these issues and move it forward as quickly as possible. I will have another webinar shortly, as I did before Christmas which people found useful, to which all OMCs will be invited. This is a priority for us.
As to the question of what else is covered, it includes water ingress and structural defects. They are based on the original build. As for maintenance or lack of maintenance over time, a lift that is broken because it was not maintained would not be included. It pertains to apartments and duplexes. We are very clear about the working group report. It does not, at this stage, cover houses within the development. It is apartments and duplexes because that is where the occurrence of this problem is predominant. We have done the most extensive survey ever, which included some 28,000 homes.
Not only have the homeowner representatives been incredibly helpful, so too have many other stakeholders, such as Engineers Ireland and the Society of Chartered Surveyors Ireland. The Oireachtas joint committee of the previous Dáil did a very good piece of work on this. I am optimistic and hopeful that we will be able to work as a collective to move this forward as quickly as we can.
I thank the Minister for his detailed response. He addressed most of the points I raised. If he does not have time to respond further, he might take the following point away as a consideration. Management companies will play a central role in this, which is set out in the draft legislation and the scheme. There are still several legacy issues with management companies around the country. Some have been convened and some have been incorporated. Some operate well and some, unfortunately, operate in a dysfunctional manner. I saw the situation of an apartment owner in my constituency who had to evacuate the apartment for a couple of years while remediation was being carried out. They sought to charge the individual management fees for the privilege of renting accommodation elsewhere while his apartment was vacant because they had constructed it incorrectly. Therefore, several issue have arisen.
Multi-unit developments legislation was brought in around 2014 and is probably due for update. I am not sure if there are plans for management company legislation in terms of tidying up the whole sphere of how management companies operate, how they are convened and how they are accountable, because they will play a central role in this scheme going forward. Perhaps there is an opportunity to look at that space and tidy things up. There are a lot of legacy issues there.
First, this is not a few bad apples in the construction industry when you are dealing with 50% to 80% of all apartments and duplexes built between 1991 and 2013. As it was happening in a widespread way, in terms of recouping the costs, is there not a case for a tax on the profits of the construction industry responsible for this problem?
Second, if the Minister has time, will he expand on what it means for the retrospective work to be certified? He is talking about it being certified now, retrospectively, by the fire brigade saying this was necessary.
Third, if homes in developments that were done as a whole are not included in these schemes, we will just have to come back to this problem. Why not include the homes in these developments, which include apartments and duplexes, now?
I thank the Minister for his clarifications around retrospectiveness. We will work with him to get that right. One thing I want to flag is that it would be grossly unjust if there were to be a time limit or an arbitrary cut-off point on that.
Once the work can be certified and assessed in advance, testing has occurred and you have the engineer's report, there should be no time limit on it.
