Paul Murphy demands 100% redress over mass apartment defects
Paul Murphy spoke in the Dáil about a working group report on defects in apartments and duplexes built between 1991 and 2013, warning that 50-80% may be affected and urging a 100% redress scheme. He said residents face average remediation bills of around €25,000 and in many cases far higher, and asked when the government will respond and whether any scheme will be retrospective.
Working group findings
The working group, established in 2021 under Seamus Neely, estimates that 50-80% of apartments and duplexes or associated common areas constructed between 1991 and 2013 may be affected by one or more defects, equating to between 62,500 and 100,000 units. The group put the average remediation cost at about €25,000 per unit and the overall potential cost between €1.56 billion and €2.5 billion.
Remediation progress and bills
The report estimates remedial works have been completed for up to 12% of affected properties, while as many as 34% may not be in the process of carrying out remedial works. Murphy warned that many residents are already facing bills substantially above the average - he cited examples exceeding €68,000 - and argued that people cannot afford these costs through no fault of their own.
Call for a full redress scheme
Murphy argued that the only just and workable solution is a 100% redress scheme and pressed the Taoiseach for a government response, asking specifically when the report will be acted on and whether any scheme would be retrospective. He framed the issue as one where residents who followed the rules now face unaffordable bills to make their homes safe.
State role and construction pressures
The Taoiseach responded that the state is now the biggest actor in housing and outlined pressures on construction - including COVID-19 lockdowns and material price increases of over 20% in some areas - while noting current targets and the need to scale up to roughly 35,000 homes per year from a projected 24,600. Murphy and the Taoiseach also touched on student accommodation, affordability gaps, and the minister's review of income thresholds for social housing.
Related remediation schemes and next steps
The minister is examining the defects report and is drawing on learnings from previous remediation schemes such as the pyrite and defective concrete blocks schemes. The Taoiseach said the minister will report back to government with proposals, while Murphy continued to press for immediate, comprehensive relief for affected homeowners.
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Taoiseach, it's almost two months now since the government received the report from the working group to examine defects in housing and that report is extremely stark in terms of the situation it sets out with regards to defects, primarily fire defects in apartments and duplexes. Just to quote, it says, quote, that the working group estimates that of apartments and duplexes or associated common areas constructed between 1991 and 2013, the number that may be affected by one or more defects, i.e. fire, safety, structural safety or water ingress defects, is likely to range between 50% and 80%, which equates to between 62,500 and 100,000 apartments duplexes. To spell that out, it means if you live in a Celtic Tiger built apartment block or duplex, the chances are there are serious defects in the construction of your home and you're going to be faced with a very substantial bill. The average bill is 25,000 euros, I think that will go up and already many are facing bills of significantly more than that, 68,000 euros plus. People simply cannot afford to pay that, this is not the residents fault, they did everything they were supposed to do when they built their homes and now they're faced with these massive, unaffordable bills in order to make their homes safe. The only just and workable solution is a 100% redress scheme. The question for you, Taoiseach, is when is the government going to respond to this report and will you give a commitment right now that whatever scheme you bring in will be retrospective? Thanks. First of all, I would say that the, just to cover people generally, the state is the biggest actor in housing now. One wouldn't think that from the contributions that are made regularly in the house or indeed from some public commentary or analysis. The state is the biggest actor in housing, be it social housing, be it affordable housing, be it cost rental, be it Cree Coneha, town's first policy, trying to bridge the gap between viability in brownfield sites. So the state is the biggest player now in terms of house building and we need to build far more houses than we're currently building as a country. And no doubt COVID-19 hit construction with the two lockdowns and now the increase in commodities and increase in prices have been quite significant, well over 20% in some materials for building industry. So it's been one big storm after the other facing the construction industry and the government's plans. Notwithstanding that we do feel that we'll make the target of 24,600 this year. But that's not enough and we need to be at about 35,000 per annum and we are on all fronts in terms of workforce planning, in terms of better construction methodology, doing what we can to get construction going. On student accommodation, again, there are proposals coming forward, it's not a failure, I mean, there's thousands and thousands of student accommodations that's happened over recent years, they're not a failure. Again, it's scale, we need more, we need higher volumes, there's an affordability gap now post-COVID, inflationary issues, the education institutions are saying they can't make it work. Government is examining this, but again, it'll be government. So government is doing an awful lot on housing without question. And we will be dealing with the student issue also. The Minister is looking at the increase in income thresholds for social housing. That has been examined by the Minister. And I've been in discussions with the Minister in relation to that. Under the defects in housing, again, the Minister established a working group under Mr. Seamus Neely, former Chief Executive of Donegal County Council in 2021. He's published, he's received a report, he's published it, and as you know, the working group estimates that the average cost of undertaking the remediation of defects is likely to be about 25,000 per apartment duplex, approximately. That's an overall potential cost of 1.56 billion to 2.5 billion. It's estimated that remedial works have already been completed in respect of up to 12% of the affected properties, and up to 34% of the affected properties may not be in the process of carrying out remedial works. And the Minister is examining the report, and will obviously report back to government in terms of the response. He's also looking at the learnings gained through the development and operation of other such schemes, such as the pyrite remediation scheme and the defective concrete blocks scheme. On Deputy Barry's questions in terms of notices to quit, its landlords are leaving the market in significant numbers, and have been for the last four to five years. I would argue at times that much of the rhetoric from your good self and ideas that you bring forward is leading to an acceleration of that exit. Many people, many people do not feel it's worth their while to be landlords anymore. And these are people who may have purchased one house or two in the past with a view to renting them out, and they're now selling. The value has gone high as well, but also, sorry if you talk to people, I mean, you know, yeah, sorry, again, you're troubling again through the chair. The point is, landlords are getting out of the system, whatever way, whatever, they're getting out. No, the state won't buy every house, the state's not going to buy every house, but the state has said, the state has said to local authorities, you are allowed and you have the capacity and you have the firepower to purchase houses of people who could be rendered homeless as a result. So the councils have been told they can buy the houses where someone could be rendered homeless if they're, if they're, if they're, they are in some cases doing it actually. It's not like you lads not staying quiet when you're asked, but there's an issue you should reflect on as well. It's no point in saying buy every single house. These kind of simplistic answers to everything through the chair is not the way to solve the housing crisis, because we do need, we do need people to let, to, to let existing housing stock. It's not, many people don't feel it's worth their while and yes, because of the value, you know, they feel it's, it's timely to get out. That's not, that's not good enough for the, the housing supply issue because we need the supply at the moment. And many approved housing bodies are saying this to us. They want us to take action to sort of encourage landlords to stay in the system. Okay, thank you very much. That concludes the question.
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