Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 1 February 2024
79. Deputy Pearse Doherty asked the Minister for Finance for an update on his engagement with an organisation (details supplied) and his Department with respect to the defective concrete blocks redress scheme; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [4692/24]
Amharc ar fhreagraBefore I come to question, I have another question for the Minister. Given the deadline for parliamentary questions and that the report was published yesterday, I invite him to make some comments on my belief that Revenue should investigate the tax arrangements of the exit payments by RTÉ. We were not able to table questions on it because of the deadline. It is a significant issue with almost €250,000 paid to ten individuals. There is a suggestion it should be examined and I ask the Minister to clarify his engagement with Revenue on the matter.
The question I have tabled is on the critical issue of homeowners affected by defective concrete blocks in my county and elsewhere. The Minister and the Department are centrally involved in responsibility for the key issues of the ability of these properties to be mortgaged and insured. For this reason, I ask him to give an update to the Dáil on his engagement with the banking sector, the Department and the Department of housing on this crucial issue.
I thank the Deputy. If I may briefly respond to the first point he made, I am satisfied that the Revenue Commissioners will apply the law without fear or favour. I do not direct them on operational matters but they have all of the powers they need and they will fully discharge their responsibilities. They will engage directly with RTÉ and any other relevant parties to ensure all taxation obligations have been fully met in this regard.
As the Deputy will be aware, the overall Government response on the problems associated with defective concrete blocks is led by my colleague the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage. His Department is engaging with impacted householders and relevant stakeholders and has put in place a scheme of financial support to help affected homeowners. This scheme provides for grants of up to €420,000 to remediate homes and includes ancillary grants of €25,000 to assist homeowners to meet the costs relating to temporary accommodation, storage and essential immediate repairs.
I understand that some homeowners have identified a potential challenge with funding the commencement of remediation works in circumstances where it is necessary to make a payment to professionals engaged on a remediation project prior to receipt of the first grant payment. The Banking and Payments Federation Ireland, BPFI, submitted an interim funding proposal to the Department of housing to address this timing mismatch.
The BPFI proposes that funding would be provided upfront from a BPFI member to a homeowner on the commencement of remediation works. It is proposed that this funding would subsequently be repaid to the BPFI member on the release of the approved grant payment, subject to any requirement of the scheme. I understand this proposal was reviewed at a subgroup meeting of the implementation steering group, chaired by the Department of housing, on 11 January 2024.
Last year, I asked my officials to engage with the BPFI and officials in the Department of housing to support that Department in exploring the funding mechanism proposal. This work is ongoing and includes consideration of the legislative and operational implications of the proposal. The Government fully understands the importance of this issue in the communities affected by defective concrete blocks. I will continue to work proactively with my Government colleagues, as necessary, to ensure the scheme operates effectively and consistently.
The proposal was put forward last autumn. The BPFI is pressurising the Department to make a decision on this issue. It speaks about the harm being caused and the distress to individuals. This is not the only issue on the table. Other issues relate to the ability of the homes to be mortgaged, which is something we all take for granted. Is it the case that the Government is giving a guarantee that the scheme it has put in place will result in a certificate of remediation, and it is absolutely the position these homes will fully be able to be mortgaged and insured? This is the core question for the Government. These issues fall in the domain of the Minister for Finance. Is this the position of the Government? When will we get to the point where this is actionable? This shows the haphazard nature of the scheme. If it were not for a number of individuals in the redress focus groups, this issue would not even have been on the radar of the Department of Finance or the Department of housing. It is a crucial issue. The issue is that after the grant is spent and the houses are rebuilt will they be able to be mortgaged and will they be fully insurable?
The Government position on this is clear. It is our understanding and expectation that once a home is certified and remediated under the scheme, it will be treated for mortgage purposes in the same manner as any other home. This specific issue is being dealt with by the subgroup to which I referred. It met on 11 January. The focus was on the ability of the homes to be mortgaged. The Deputy will be aware of the membership of the group and it includes homeowners in the affected counties, including Donegal, Clare and Mayo. The Department of housing chairs the committee. Other representatives include Engineers Ireland, Insurance Ireland, the BPFI, local authorities and the homeowner's liaison officer. This was the issue that was the focus of the first meeting of the group. Another meeting of the group is planned for this month. I will be kept fully up to date by the officials. I have remained in contact with the BPFI on this specific issue.
I welcome the Minister's response but he said that once a house is certified, it will be able to be mortgaged and insured. The core issue is that the banks cannot give a guarantee that these properties will be able to be mortgaged. Why is that? It is because the engineers cannot give a guarantee that they will certify the works. That is what is at the very heart of this. It is one year since the scheme was launched. The scheme has seen a tiny number of new applications because there are so many problems with it, along with the mishmash and the failure of Government to deal with this issue.j
This has been on the table for a while. The subgroup only met this month. I have been raising this issue with the Minister since last year. Has the Minister engaged with the BPFI to understand what is at the heart of this? Has he engaged with the engineers who are responsible for certifying these properties? Once they are certified, we know the banks will step in but the problem is that the engineers cannot certify these houses under the scheme because of the way the Government is dealing with it, not least the fact it will not allow foundations in the scheme.
I am very much across the issues involved that are relevant to the work of the Department and the bodies that come under its aegis. The Department is part of the implementation steering group and the subgroup where these issues are being actively discussed. The ability of the homes to be mortgaged was the focus of the first meeting last month and there will be another meeting this month. I have remained directly involved and kept abreast of the situation. I have also spoken directly with the BPFI on these issues.
It is our expectation that once properties have been remediated, where the appropriate certification is provided, that mortgage ability would be restored. That is a reasonable expectation on behalf of the homeowners. I will work with the Deputy and others to ensure that is what happens over the period ahead.
