It is more than 250 days since the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage, Deputy O'Brien, met with homeowners affected by Celtic tiger fire safety and structural defects about a redress scheme. At that meeting, the Minister promised the homeowners three things: first, that funding would be made available this year for emergency fire safety works, particularly for those homes that are currently unsafe; second, that draft legislation would be published this year for the wider redress scheme; and third, that there would be a retrospective provision included in that legislation for those people who are currently undertaking structural remediation works. Can the Taoiseach tell us if the Government intends to make that funding for those essential emergency works available this year? Can he also recommit to publishing the legislation by the end of the year and confirm that the Government's position remains that that funding will be retrospective?

It remains our position that once the scheme is introduced it will be retrospective - first, because that is fair and, second, we do not want to discourage people from carrying out works now that they would not carry out were it not retrospective. The last time I checked, although it was some time ago, I was informed that there would be some funding this year for emergency fire safety works, but I will have to double-check with the Minister, Deputy O'Brien, and get back to the Deputy directly.