I call Deputy McDonald, who has up to one minute.

Across the State, tens of thousands of homeowners and tenants impacted by Celtic tiger building defects have been waiting to hear the Government plans for a redress scheme. They are living in apartments, duplexes and houses that have very serious fire safety and other structural defects. The cost of remediating defects for these homeowners and tenants, defects that they did not cause, can be up to €80,000 per home. I understand that a memo went to the Cabinet on this today. Can the Taoiseach confirm if a redress scheme for these homeowners and tenants will be in place this year? Can he confirm that it will provide 100% redress? Will it be retrospective? What immediate funding will the Government put in place for interim emergency fire safety works?

I can confirm that the Government decided today that we will fund a scheme to carry out necessary fire safety, water ingress and structural safety works to apartments and duplexes that need that work done. The Minister, Deputy Darragh O'Brien, announced the scheme only in the last couple of hours. It will benefit tens of thousands of people. It is not just about the financial distress; there is also enormous emotional distress for people if they live in a building and the alarm goes off when the fire safety works have not been done. I believe this decision will be a huge relief to tens of thousands of people around the country.

To answer the Deputy’s questions, we expect the legislation will take until the end of the year, the scheme will be up and running next year and there will be retrospection for people who have already carried out works.

As I am talking about this matter, I should declare a potential interest. I own an apartment in Castleknock. It is the only property I own but it is in a building with defects. While I will not be claiming from the scheme personally, the owners' management company might, and I could be an indirect beneficiary in that regard.

Since I first raised the issue of construction defects in this House last summer, I have been inundated with dreadful personal stories from individuals whose homes are not safe. In many cases, they have paid thousands of euro to remedy the defects and are in dire financial straits as a result. The Taoiseach said he is affected personally by this as well. Following the announcement by the Minister, Deputy Darragh O'Brien, today, I would like to know whether the redress will amount to 100%. Will owners get back 100% of what they have already spent on remedying defects? We know many people have already spent thousands of euro. Therefore, we need a firm commitment that the scheme will be inclusive and will apply retrospectively to that full extent for those who have already taken the advice of the Government and have already begun or concluded repair works. It is vital that this scheme also marks a definitive end to the arm’s length approach to dodgy developers and builders. We need to hear from the Government its plans to tighten up the planning regulations so that those responsible for putting households at risk will not be put in a position where they can do so again, and so that owners' management companies will be reformed to give residents surety that the same builders will not be in charge of repair works.

I acknowledge that the Deputy raised this matter on a number of occasions in the House last year and previously. I can confirm that it will be 100% redress, that there will be retrospection and that we will be establishing a new independent building regulator to try to make sure this does not happen again. That said, there will be checks and balances. It will not just be a case of people or management companies putting in a claim. It will have to be certified work, legitimately done, and all the rest of it, so there will be checks and balances in the scheme. I think this news will come as an enormous relief to tens of thousands of people and families around the country. I represent a suburban constituency with a lot of apartments and duplexes, and many of them need work done, particularly when it comes to fire safety, but also with regard to water ingress and security. The financial worry of this is huge and the emotional worry is huge, and that will be eased for a lot of people today.

Coillte’s plans to partner with a private investment fund are causing huge concern across the country. Under the plans, Coillte will source tens of thousands of acres in rural Ireland, plant the trees and manage the forests. The State entity will do all the work with regard to this project - it will do all the heavy lifting - but private international investors will reap the rewards. This is a very lucrative investment for them: it is secure, low risk and profitable. Why is the Government facilitating this land grab by international investors, subsidising this through forestry grant schemes and tax incentives, and pushing up land prices across Ireland? Fine Gael has a track record of putting corporates before community and large investors before community, whether it is on housing or health, and now it appears to be happening on climate action. Why is the State not using some of its €5 billion surplus this year to invest in forestry for the benefit of rural Ireland, for the benefit of our climate targets and for the benefit of biodiversity? The Taoiseach needs to knock this deal on the head now.

Coillte is a State-owned enterprise. It is independent and its board makes its own commercial decisions. This decision was made by Coillte, not by the Government or by the Minister, Deputy McConalogue. The Deputy asked why we do not use some of our own funds to invest in a project like this and the answer is that we are. Coillte is partnering with our own sovereign wealth fund, the Ireland Strategic Investment Fund, and also Gresham House to establish this fund, so we are also investing in this fund.

To subsidise investors.

The Government is subsidising these investors. They are using the same money to subsidise UK investors.

It is very much to the credit of many of the tens of thousands of people who are affected by defective apartments and the consequences of cowboy builders who were allowed to run amok in this country that, finally, we have a redress scheme. I welcome that fact, that assurances are being given it will be 100% redress and that it will be retrospective. However, the devil is always in the detail in these things. I would like and, more importantly, tens of thousands affected by this would like to see the details of the new scheme and also that those responsible for these defective buildings will be chased down, held responsible and forced to contribute to the redress scheme. Also, will the State consider developing its own construction capacity so there is capacity to do the remediation of these dangerously defective buildings?

Today is a very significant day. We committed in the programme for Government of the three parties that we would grasp this nettle and that we would deal with the issue of defects in apartments and duplexes.

A significant Government decision was taken today to provide 100% redress. Costs already incurred will be covered by the scheme. It is important to say that those who have contracted work, which is either due to start or who are in the middle of that work – approximately 32% of the properties affected are in that category – will also be covered by the scheme.

The Deputy can have no doubt that any avenue this Government can use to seek recompense or recourse from those who have created this problem will be taken. We do not want to leave residents in the lurch. We said we would do this, and we are doing it. We have had excellent engagement with homeowner representative groups, which have strongly welcomed the announcement by the Government today.