Pringle presses Minister to ensure everyone benefits from cap and rates revisions in defective blocks scheme
- Updated: 19th September 2024
Independent TD for Donegal, Thomas Pringle, pressed the Housing Minister on whether revisions to caps and rates in the defective blocks redress scheme will be made retrospective to people who have already availed of the scheme, saying homeowners deserve clarity.
Addressing Minister Darragh O’Brien in the Dáil today, Deputy Pringle said: “Living in a home with defective blocks is a crisis for a family to deal with and they need that clarity.”
The deputy raised the issue during oral questions for the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage.
Deputy Pringle said: “When the scheme was being announced, people were advised to continue with the old scheme and that the new conditions would be made retrospective for them and they’d be able to benefit.
“That actually isn’t happening and that is a problem and it’s causing huge distress to many homeowners in Donegal who in good faith went ahead with the scheme and now they’re not benefitting from that scheme,” he said, as he asked the Minister to reconsider the decision.
In his response, the Minister said he will bring a memo to Cabinet within a matter of weeks and said he intended as part of the proposal that it would also apply to those who are in the scheme and works that are in place and under way.
Deputy Pringle said: “Would it also apply to people who have completed works as part of the scheme, who did it in good faith and worked under the old scheme while this new scheme was being implemented and enacted?” He also pointed out that construction costs have seen over 20% inflation.
The deputy said: “It’s vitally important that everybody would benefit from this because everybody bought into this scheme on the good faith that that was going to happen, and now they’re worried that it’s not going to happen.
“I would like you to say today that it will happen and that’s what you’ll be bringing to Cabinet for them to make a decision on,” he said.
Deputy Pringle said: “Who will benefit from the proposal that you’re bringing forward? Is it going to be everybody who’s participated in the scheme to date that’s going to benefit from the proposal that you’re bringing to Cabinet, or will there be a cut-off point, or what is actually going to happen?
“Because I think the homeowners deserve that clarity in relation to this scheme. Living in a home with defective blocks is a crisis for a family and for everybody to deal with and they’re living through this all the time, and they need that clarity.”
In his response, Minister O’Brien said he will bring a memo to Cabinet with options for Cabinet to decide upon, and the memo is being prepared at the moment. He said residents and affected homeowners will see an increase in the cap and an increase in the allowable costs, the application of which is subject to Cabinet approval which he expects in the coming weeks.
The Minister also said he would take on board the points that Deputy Pringle raised, and that will also form part of their considerations.
