Thomas Pringle TD
Home / Dáil Questions / Pringle says Government must make sure banks play their role in redress scheme

Pringle says Government must make sure banks play their role in redress scheme

Independent TD for Donegal, Thomas Pringle, has called on Government to ensure banks play their role in every step of the redress process for homeowners affected by defective blocks.

Addressing the Dáil on Thursday, Deputy Pringle said: “This issue is not solved, and is pressing for the families affected and getting more and more so.”

He said one of the most pressing issues with the redress scheme is that it is far from 100 per cent.

The deputy said: “Most householders will have to pay at least €60,000 and could be a lot more to get into the 100 per cent redress scheme. The banks and insurance focus group of the defective block homeowner working group has shown that the banks are equal shareholders in the problems faced by homeowners, and they need and demand the government to get on board with holding them to account.”

He said: “Homeowners have the stress of living in defective homes that are not their fault, trying to navigate the process of applying for remediation and finding the money to bridge the 100 per cent scheme gap, while the banks and building societies sit and demand full repayment and do not assist at all.

“At the very least, the banks should provide the homeowners with the funding to meet the difference in the 100 per cent scheme so that they have only one organisation to deal with,” he said.

The deputy said: “The minister said that the banks need to come on board at a later stage and be understanding, but surely you would accept that is not good enough and a softly, softly approach is not tenable.

“So minister, will you recognise that the banks have a role to play in every stage of the redress process and genuinely make sure that they participate now for the benefit of the defective block homeowners, as well as for the benefit of all citizens of Ireland who will ultimately carry the cost of this scheme,” he said.

Deputy Pringle raised the issue on Thursday during Leaders’ Questions.

In his response, Minister Michael McGrath said Minister Darragh O’Brien has met this week with members of the homeowners action group and regulations are being finalised.

Minister McGrath said the value of the scheme as currently estimated is about €2.7 billion and said he believed insurance companies and banks do have a role. He said he has agreed to meet with the sub-group of the homeowners action group focused on banking and insurance issues.

Deputy Pringle welcomed the fact that ministers were meeting with the working group, but said it was “a sad reflection” that the homeowners did the work to show that banks have a commitment to honour in relation to their mortgages when the Government should have been in that process.

The deputy said: “I’m glad that the government is coming to the table, but I hope that you will take that on board and continue on and ensure that the banks play their part.”

Deputy Pringle said: “Any gaps that are in the scheme should be funded by the mortgage owners of the property.”