Defective apartments remediation
Deputy Higgins called for urgent help for owners of defective apartments, including a tax credit for owner-occupiers. The Tánaiste said the issue was serious, cited parallels with pyrite and mica remediation, and said the report would be considered after the budget.
I raise the case of people living in 32,000 apartments built with defects. It is something I have personal experience of. The report of the working group has been really widely welcomed by many of the constituents I am dealing with who are in this situation but it is not helping them foot the bill. Many cannot afford the remediation work and they are worried; they are worried about their safety, the costs and their insurance cover. They need help and need it now. If a tax credit for owner-occupiers was introduced in this budget, it would provide some help for some of these people immediately and it is just one of the recommendations in the report to help people in this situation, including people who have already completed works. When will this report and its recommendations be looked at and adopted?
Comment on this
I thank the Deputy for raising the issue of defective apartments. It is a big issue in my constituency too. Many of the homes in my constituency were built around the same time as many of those in her constituency and unfortunately there are a lot of problems with fire risk, water ingress and other issues. We helped people with pyrite, we are helping people with mica and it is important we do the same for people in our cities who have been affected by defective apartments. I do not have a timeline on the consideration of the report but it is fair to say once the budget is done it is going to be very high on the Government's agenda. We want to see people getting help no later than next year.