Housing Minister Darragh O’Brien has said that the Government will leave “no avenue untravelled” to pursue those responsible for defective Celtic Tiger apartments.
However, the Fianna Fáil TD also accepted that many of the builders and companies who constructed the buildings are “long gone” and the Government must now step in to remediate apartments affected by fire safety issues.
At the Cabinet meeting on Wednesday morning, ministers signed off on a “fully funded” plan that will see apartments remediated. Owners who have already paid to have their apartments fixed will be covered retrospectively for the works.
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It is estimated that between 62,500 and 100,000 apartments built between 1991 and 2013 are affected by one or more defects. This includes fire safety, structural safety and water ingress defects.
The average cost of fixing an apartment is €25,000, meaning that the total bill for the project could amount to between €1.56bn and €2.5bn.
People who have already paid for remediation works or are in the process of paying for works will be paid retrospectively with no cap on the total grant amount.
Owners’ Management Companies will be funded to carry out the necessary remediation works and a “whole building” approach will be taken to remediate relevant defects.
At a press conference outside Government Buildings, Minister O’Brien said that Government will attempt to pursue the builders who were responsible for the defects.
He said: “We're going to leave no avenue untraveled to see what can be done to pursue those who are responsible for this.
“Government are stepping into a market failure, let's be straight. We need to give people certainty that they are going to get assistance from the State.
“We've established the principle through the Concrete Block Levy of the sector actually contributing. The initial cost of this will be Exchequer funding which will be carried within my own government department.”
It was put to Minister O’Brien that many of the builders and contractors who built these apartments and duplexes during the Celtic Tiger era are “long gone”.
He acknowledged that while this is “certainly correct in many instances”, the Government is “looking at all legal avenues as well to be able to see recourse for those who are responsible”.
Mr O’Brien added that “lessons have been learned” from lax regulation in the building industry and the “regulation that was in place wasn’t sufficient”.
He said: “Lessons have been learned and need to continue to be learned. That's why I've mentioned here this morning as well the establishment of an independent building standards and regulatory authority that needs to be stood up.”
The Constructions Defects Alliance welcomed the Cabinet decision to provide remediation for the apartments.
Spokesperson Pat Montague said that the Alliance were “particularly pleased at the political decision to ensure that people who have paid or are paying towards remediation costs will be included in the scheme”.
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