Paul Murphy: Demands 100% Retrospective Redress for Defective Homes
Paul Murphy warned that up to 100,000 apartments could be affected by defects, mainly fire defects, and called for a 100% retrospective redress scheme. He criticised the Building Control Act's introduction of self-certification and pressed the Taoiseach to guarantee that any scheme would apply retrospectively.
Historical legislative context
He recalled the 29 November 1989 Dáil debate on the Building Control Act, which introduced a self-certification regime allowing builders to sign off on their own work. Murphy quoted a warning from the time that the principle was "very dangerous" and criticised the ministerial response that effectively blamed buyers rather than builders.
Scale and locations of defects
Murphy cited a government-commissioned report released in July estimating up to 100,000 apartments and duplexes around the state likely affected by defects, mostly fire defects. He named developments including Hunterswood, Park West Crescent, Carrick Mines Green and a recent development in Inchicore, while noting many affected developments do not want to be named yet.
Financial impact on homeowners
He said most residents do not yet know they are affected and warned of an average remediation bill of €25,000, with many facing much higher costs they cannot afford. Murphy highlighted votes by Park West Crescent residents who refused to pay €68,500 demanded for fire defects and said Hunterswood residents took similar action.
Residents' campaign and demands
Residents have organised under the campaign Not Our Fault and are calling a major public conference for all affected owners. Murphy argued the only just and workable solution is a 100% redress scheme that is retrospective, with the state then pursuing responsible builders.
Government response and pending scheme
Murphy noted the government received the expert group's report in July and set up an interdepartmental and agency group a month later. The Taoiseach replied that the minister has commissioned a significant survey, has met resident groups and will publish a comprehensive scheme before the end of the year, with deputies invited to propose amendments. Murphy pressed again for an explicit commitment that any scheme will be retrospective.
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Fisak, I want to bring you back to the 29th of November, 1989. You were recently elected, supporting a Fianna Fáil PD government led by Charles Hawhey. The Dáil was debating the Building Control Act, which introduced a regime of self-certification, allowing builders to effectively sign off on projects themselves. Eamon Gilmour, then of the Workers' Party, said, the principle being enshrined in this section is very dangerous. It will expose people who are buying homes to buying products which are substandard against which they will have no comeback. What was the response of the Fianna Fáil Minister, Podrick Flynn? If Deputy Gilmour buys a building without having put in place some checks and without having carried out checks, then he is the one who is being negligent in protecting his own investment. Incredible. Blaming the residents and not the builders who you opened, Fianna Fáil opened the door for the kind of defective building that we have seen. So here we are 33 years on and the fruits of this policy are becoming crystal clear. According to the report commissioned by the government and released in July, up to 100,000 apartments and defects around the state are likely affected by defects, mostly fire defects. That includes Hunterswood, Park West Crescent, Carrick Mines Green, recent development in Inchicore, many others who don't want their developments named yet. But that is only the tip of the iceberg. Most people affected do not know it yet. If you live in an apartment or duplex built between 1991 and 2013, there are probably significant defects in your home. You will have a very unwelcome surprise coming in the form of a bill of an average of 25,000 euros. For many, it will be much more than that. That is money that people simply do not have. And contrary to what Minister Flynn was suggesting, this is not their fault at all. They did everything right when they bought their property. It is why residents have come together to launch a campaign called Not Our Fault and are calling a major public conference open to all affected in a few weeks' time. The government has the report, where these figures come from, from the expert group since July. They, a month ago, set up another group to look into it, an interdepartmental and agency group. But the people who are living with the fruits of Fianna Fáil policy know what the answer is. It is extremely simple. A 100% redress scheme. It is the only just solution. It is also the only workable solution. The scheme should be retrospective and the state should then pursue the builders who are responsible for this. Last week, residents in Park West Crescent voted not to pay the 68,500 euros they were being asked to to address fire defects. Residents in Hunterswood did similarly a few months ago. Nobody, Taoiseach, is going to hand over huge amounts of money now, when the government has not indicated that the scheme will be retrospective. Will you stop kicking the can down the road? Will you agree to a 100% redress scheme? And will you commit that it is a retrospective scheme? Well, first of all, no one has been more proactive than Minister O'Brien in dealing with the issue of, be it defective blocks or be it defective apartments. He has commissioned probably the largest, most significant survey in terms of apartment defects in this country, and has the results of that report before him. And he has indicated repeatedly to the House that he will be bringing forward a scheme by the end of this year in respect of apartment defects. He has already introduced the most comprehensive scheme in relation to MICA, a previous government prior to that had brought in a scheme in relation to PIRATE, and in the first instance, those who construct builders or in the case of MICA quarries in respect of defective blocks are responsible. But the government has taken a view that the residents, particularly in this situation, should be looked after, that it's not the residents' fault. And that has been a clear position of government. And that residents, irrespective of perhaps responsibilities, not perhaps responsibilities, and builders and insurance and all the rest, and there should be proper mechanisms in place in terms of bonds and so on like that to protect any defects. But because of the need for people to live in their primary residence and have a roof over their head, the government is going to come forward with a very comprehensive scheme to deal with this, just as we have in respect of MICA and indeed other areas as well. And many of these have occurred in more recent times in terms of the department defects. That doesn't lessen the need to do something about it. I know the minister met with the construction defects alliance last week and also met with the apartment owner group as well and network. So he's very proactive on this. The scheme will be brought forward and will be published before the end of the year, and deputies in the House will have an opportunity to input into that in terms of the precise nature of it. But I've no doubt that deputies will bring forward amendments and so on and make suggestions to the minister. We took on a lot of additional recommendations in respect of the MICA scheme when we met with representatives of residents when you compare it to the previous scheme that had been introduced some years back. So the minister will publish the scheme before the end of the year, and we'll engage with members of the House in respect of it. Stop kicking the can down the road. You have the report from July. It's extremely simple. It sets out the problems and it sets out the potential solutions. At the very least, Taoiseach, what residents are looking for from you today is a commitment that any scheme that is introduced will be retrospective. Taoiseach, can you answer that question? Can you give a commitment that regardless of the details of the scheme that's introduced, that it will be retrospective? If you don't do that, well then nothing is going to happen on this issue. Nobody is going to vote to pay €25,000, €30,000, €50,000, €70,000 to fix defects that are not their fault when they don't have this money. So give a commitment that the scheme that is introduced will be retrospective. And secondly, give a commitment that this will be a scheme for 100% redress. Because that's not the scheme that you introduced for the people affected by MICA. These people are the victims of cowboy builders, yes, but Fianna Fáil opened the door for the cowboy builders to jump through with your regime of self-certification. So give a guarantee that the state will be funding these costs so that they actually can be done. Because they won't be done if you leave any portion of them up to ordinary people because they can't afford it. And then pursue to go after the builders responsible. Look, again, Fianna Fáil didn't open the door to anybody. And don't be absolving people who have their own responsibilities, namely those who build. There's always responsibility. So I know that that's just classic politicking by you and political spin. I'm more interested in getting this issue resolved for the residents, OK? And the bottom line is this. The minister, as you know, in September brought a memorandum to government. He informed us of the content of the report that he published in July. I outlined the scale of the issues, 100,000 apartments impacted, potential costs here of about 1.56 billion to 2.5 billion within that range. He will bring proposals on the scheme to the cabinet before the end of the year. And all of the issues that you've referred to are under examination. I'm not going to preempt what the minister is going to bring to the cabinet. This is now well into October. It's not too long now to the end of the year, deputy. No one's kicking any can down the road. This is a very significant issue. We've already allocated up to 2.8 billion for the Michael scheme, 4 billion for Pyrite. So these issues have to be taken seriously. They involve a lot of expenditure on behalf of the taxpayer. Thank you. So we take our responsibilities seriously. We go through it in a proper way and a serious-minded way. Go, Martin. Moving on. Moving on.
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