Rose Conway-Walsh demands answers on insurance and appeals delay
Rose Conway-Walsh pressed officials over homeowners' difficulties with insurers demanding evidence of new foundations and final engineer's reports, and over long, undefined waits in the Appeals process. She sought clarity on insurer requests, the statutory appeals timetable and how homeowners can access a 10% remediation grant increase introduced in 2024.
Insurance company requests
She raised a case where four different insurance companies are asking a homeowner for evidence that foundations are new and for a final engineer's report to obtain cover. Officials in the room said the department had not heard of that requirement broadly, and Ms Conway-Walsh argued the department needs to engage with insurers on the issue to resolve homeowners' problems.
Appeals process timeline
She challenged officials on the absence of any statutory timeframe for Appeals decisions, asking when an appellant should expect an answer. Officials explained the legislation contains no set time limit and that the statutory Appeals Panel and its Chair set up individual three-member appeal boards, leaving no definitive timeline the department can give.
10% grant increase and regulations
She asked how homeowners who incurred qualifying expenditure from 29 March 2024 will obtain the extra 10% grant increase. Officials said the mechanism will be provided for in regulations that are drafted and undergoing quality checks in the department before being issued to the minister, and that applicants will apply to their local authority for an increased remediation option grant once regulations are finalised.
Accountability and oversight
She pressed the point that independent statutory status for the Appeals Panel does not absolve the scheme of oversight or accountability, and asked who is in charge so homeowners can get answers. Officials reiterated that the Appeals element is statutorily independent and that the department administers appeals intake and processing but cannot set the Appeals Panel's timescales.
Impact on homeowners
She emphasised homeowners, including those in Mayo, are left waiting and uncertain—unable to secure insurance or to know when they will receive appeal determinations or guidance on the increased grant. Officials acknowledged regulations and guidance are pending, but could not give definitive timelines or instructions for local authorities.
We publish thousands of recordings to make Irish politics transparent and resistant to manipulation. Spotted an error? Report it — together we are building a reliable archive of Irish politics.
Thank you. Okay, so my first question is around the insurance companies asking for evidence of new foundations and a final engineer's report. Can you speak to that or what liaison you have with insurance companies to ensure that insurance companies aren't? I'm not sure who will answer that. Can the appropriate person answer it? So I have one homeowner whose four different insurance companies are asking for evidence that the foundations are new. Okay. Can anybody answer it? Is the department in a position to...? No, again, that's the first. We would have heard of it in the department. I haven't heard of that. So you're not aware that insurance companies are asking for reports, a final report from an engineer, and that the foundations are new in order to get insurance cover. Yeah, not in relation to foundations. I know, I mean, the department and the previous minister would have had engagement with the insurance federation around this. Yeah, I know all of that. Sorry, but you are not aware. There's nobody in this room aware that insurance companies are asking for that. I can't speak for everyone in the room. Right, okay. It is a big issue and so I'm telling you from here today that it's an issue and it's an issue that the department need to sort out in conjunction with the insurance companies because at the end of the day we have a homeowner, we have homeowners who are in the middle of this. I want to ask about the appeals process now. You went through the lengthy thing of going from A to B to C to D. So if somebody puts in an appeal today and there's nothing, when can they expect to have an answer to it around the thresholds? All I can say to that is that the legislation doesn't have a time frame in it. So it's a matter for the Chair of the Appeals Board, the Appeals Panel, the South Appeals Boards, and then for them to do their work. And I know they are meeting extensively on various appeals, and there's no time frame that I can give you. So there's no time frame, there's no accountability, no oversight. Absolutely it has to be independent. But independent doesn't mean no oversight and no accountability. Homeowners need to know when they are putting in, and I'm not being, I'm just trying to get answers for the people in Mayo that are impacted by this. So they don't, so if they put in an appeal today that they just wait in the abyss until it, the answer comes back to them. Is that what you're saying? I can't speak obviously for the Appeals Panel. Who's in charge? The Appeals Panel is statutory independent, so it's the Chair of that and who then sets up individual appeal boards of three members of the Appeals. I understand all that, but who's in charge of all this scheme, so that we can get all these bits together that homeowners are able to get the answers to the questions that they need? Well that particular part of the scheme is statutorily independent, so the Department and the Minister isn't. So there's no oversight, there's no accountability by Minister, by Department, by anybody? Well I mean I'll kind of reiterate a little bit what I said just a little bit earlier, is we do administer the scheme, right, so we do take in the appeals, we do pass them on, we do put it in a correct platform. But you can't answer me in terms of a time length, right, okay, I have another question, sorry you can't answer me in terms of, and I'm really not being rude here, but I need to get to the bottom of this, nobody can answer me in terms of how long it may take, it may take two weeks, 10 weeks, 20 weeks, 50 weeks. Well Deputy, each appeal is different from my understanding and the level of detail, so it's, you know, to get an average, I couldn't, right, okay. Okay, so just in terms of the 10% insurance increase then, so can you just quickly talk me through, so somebody who is in after the 29th of March 2024, have their receipts there, when, how do they go about getting the extra 10%? For? The extra 10% that was introduced, the grant increase. I'll say, I'll let Neil, my colleague actually. Yeah, sorry, just very clearly for homeowners. Sure, yeah, so it will be set out to find out details in the regulations when they're signed off by the Minister, but the way it's going to work is, a homeowner who incurred expenditure from the 29th of March onwards, qualifying expenditure under the scheme, and they'd received a determination before the increase in cap and rates in 2024. There'll be a mechanism now for those applicants to be able to apply to the local authority for an increased remediation option grant, and that increased grant will put them. No, sorry, I didn't need to get this, sorry. Okay, so somebody has overspent, which we know there's a huge gap between what people are spending and what they are, so we know it's not 100% redress. Okay, so we are here now, and the provision is made for them to get an extra amount of money, and there's a cap in it, right? So just talk me through what that person does today. I'm that person. What do I do? You apply to the local authority for an increased remediation option. Okay, does the local authority know what form I fill in? Do I send an email? What do I do? It'll be provided for in the regulations when they're signed by the Minister. So nothing is done yet? The regulations have been drafted. They're going through a quality check in the department, and they're going to issue it to Minister shortly for review and approval. Okay, so there's no point in people ringing their local authority saying, can I have the extra 10% or can I have whatever? Okay, when will they be done? I can't give a definitive timeline on it, but what I can say to you, and my colleague Derek had said earlier, we expect it to issue to the Minister very shortly. Oh, Jesus. People were desperately hanging on, waiting for this, even the small increase that it was. We're desperately waiting to know what to do, so there's no instructions given to the local authority, and people don't know when they'll get it. So I have to go back to Mayo and tell people we don't know. I can't confirm a timeline, unfortunately, Deputy, but I would expect it to be in the next few weeks. Okay. The length of time for testing. So I have people who are waiting, from when the test was done, waiting months and months, and they haven't got the results of the tests. So how long is testing taken as it is now? Thanks, Deputy. I can take that from the housing agency. So look, I suppose to set out the housing agency has a very clear defined role within the scheme, and one of the key roles is to assist homeowners and assess their applications, which are referred from the local authorities. So within the timeline that people have explained here, yes, it is a challenge. How long has it taken? Sorry, is it six months? Well, look, approximately it's taking six months. Now, the laboratory testing is obviously, it's undertaken by an external company, external housing agency. We procure that through our framework of chartered engineers. Now, that long timeline, we have been working on that. We've been engaging with the lab operators, using the projections that we have going forward this year and next year. We are working with the laboratories for them to ramp up their resources so that they can shorten that timeline. Because it's up to a year, even I'd say even more. It can be in some instances, and the testing does take a significant period of time. It's one of the larger elements in the overall timeline. We're very conscious of it. We're actively working to reduce that, and we'll continue to do so, and we'll report back on it. So nobody in this country who does the testing, or is there not a facility here? It's very limited in this country, but we have a laboratory in this country that does it, and we have some in the UK. So we're here, and we have the UK. All right, I might get in again for another. I do want to acknowledge Claudia Gleeson here, who works at Mayo County Council, who does a fantastic job in trying to support homeowners. But she needs the extra resources as well, but not only that extra support, but she also needs clarity around this, because that's where the questions come. Deputy Kerry Keogh
Thank you for downloading 🙏
If you publish this material on social media, we would be very grateful if you tagged VideoParliament. It helps us reach more people and keep building a transparent archive of Irish politics.
