Sinn Féin is to move a motion in the Dail next week to demand fair redress for all homeowners and tenants affected by building defects.
The party’s spokesperson on Housing says the motion will demand 100% redress, and also the availability of interim funding for emergency works and short-term measures.
Deputy Eoin O’Broin says across the state, homeowners and tenants impacted by building defects have been badly let down by the government, and this motion will demand that they are finally treated fairly.
Homeowners and tenants are not to blame for building defects, he added, but they have been left in limbo, and they need certainty and reassurance that they will be listened to.
Deputy O’Broin says the motion will also demand that what’s put in place is an end-to-end scheme rather than a grant scheme, with expanded terms of reference to ensure it can open in early 2023.
He also says the scheme must be retrospective, to include those forced to pay for remediation of defects in advance of the opening of scheme’s opening.
Deputy O’Broin is urging all TDs to back the motion and to stand up for homeowners and tenants who are not to blame for the problems they now face.
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Motion in full –
That Dáil Éireann,
Welcomes:
– the publication of the Report of the Working Group to Examine Defects in Housing
Notes that the report:
– estimates up to 100,000 homes could be affected by building defects
– estimates that the cost of remediating these defects could be as high a €2.5bn
– outlines options for the creation and financing of a redress scheme for those affected
Acknowledges that:
– Light touch building control regulation by Government and shoddy practice in the
construction industry were the cause of these defects and;
– Homeowners are not responsible for these defects.
Supports:
– Homeowners and tenants call for 100% redress
Recognises:
– The growing frustration amongst homeowners and tenants due to the delay in bringing
forward an appropriate redress scheme given the current Minister for Housing
Darragh O’Brien, and Government have now been in office 2.5 years
Regrets:
– That even if Minister O’Brien announces a ‘Building Defects Scheme’ in early 2023,
based on the experience of the Enhanced Defective Concrete Block scheme,
homeowners may not be unable to access such a scheme and receive funding for
remediation until 2024 at the earliest due to the slow pace in bringing forward
legislation and regulations and the lack of any provision for such a scheme in Budget
2023
Calls on the Government:
– To establish a redress scheme for all homes impacted by Celtic Tiger era building defects as
a matter of urgency and;
Agrees that:
– This scheme should consider expanding the terms of reference of the Pyrite Resolution
Board to ensure the scheme opens in early 2023, with amending legislation where required
– The scheme should operate as an end-to-end scheme similar to the current Pyrite Resolution
Board, rather than a grant scheme
– The scheme should prioritise those developments with the greatest level of fire safety and
structural risk
– Interim funding for emergency works and short-term measures such as fire wardens should
be provided in advance of full redress
– The scheme should be retrospective for those forced to pay for remediation of defects in
advance of the opening of the scheme
– The scheme must also include social landlords including Local Authorities and Approved
Housing Bodies
