I thank the Deputy. I will respond to amendment No. 1, which proposes to amend the Short Title of the Bill. This amendment would render the Short Title of the Bill incomplete and imply that the Bill relates to other concrete products, not just defective concrete blocks. As the Deputy is aware, the function of the Bill is to amend sections of the principal Act that provide financial assistance to homeowners that have homes damaged by the use of defective concrete blocks. In those circumstances, I therefore cannot accept the amendment.
Sentiment score: -0.14
I move amendment No. 3: In page 5, between lines 26 and 27, to insert the following: “(3) The Building Control Acts 1990 to 2020 and Part 3 may be cited together as the Building Control Acts 1990 to 2025.”. Amendment No. 3 is a standard provision to allow for the collective citation of the Building Control Acts 1990 to 2025. It refers to Part 3, which is the Part being inserted into the Bill by a later amendment related to the Building Control Acts. Amendment No. 13 defines the key term “Principal Act” used in Part 2. Amendment No. 62 defines the key term “Act of 1990” used in Part 3. Amendment No. 63 provides for the amendment of section 3 of the Building Control Acts. This amendment introduces an additional power by which the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage may make building regulations. The amendment facilitates the provision of information in respect of systems installed in a building in order to provide the end user with the information necessary to support the efficient and effective operation and use of a building after completion. The systems being installed in buildings today were not envisaged when the Building Control Act was written in 1990. As the complexity of what we build increases, so does the need to understand the operation of the systems in order to ensure that buildings can be operated and maintained in accordance with the design intention. As such, the provision of information to an owner of a building at the time of completion will facilitate this when the operation and maintenance becomes important. Amendment No. 74 proposes a change to the Long Title of the Bill to reflect, in the main, additional matters relating to the amendments to the Building Control Act 1990, namely, “to amend and extend the Building Control Act 1990 to provide for regularisation certificates of compliance on completion in certain circumstances; to change the names of certain certificates issued under that Act; to confer on the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the power to make regulations relating to enforcement notices; to extend the powers of authorised persons; to provide for the opening up of works in certain limited circumstances; and to provide for related matters”.
Sentiment score: 0.04
The intention behind amendment No. 63 is to give flexibility to the Minister of the day, where new systems are being used, to be able to require additional information through regulations. I think that is reasonable to allow flexibility and not have to bring in amendments, as such. I am happy to accede to the Deputy's’ request that regulations will be brought before the committee for further scrutiny.
Sentiment score: 0.28
I will address amendments Nos. 5 to 7, inclusive, tabled by Deputies Ó Broin, Doherty, McGettigan, Conway-Walsh and Mac Lochlainn, and amendment No. 60, tabled by Deputy Ward. On amendment No. 5, as the Deputies are aware the defective concrete blocks grant scheme is a grant scheme of last resort to provide financial assistance to affected homeowners to remediate their homes and move on with their lives. I therefore cannot accept the amendment. Amendment No. 6 proposes that a report on the legislative changes necessary for an end-to-end remediation scheme be laid before the Oireachtas within three months of the Act coming into operation that details the legislative changes required to operate an end-to-end remediation scheme. The defective concrete blocks grant scheme relates to dwellings which are damaged due to the use of defective concrete blocks. Under the defective concrete blocks grant scheme, there are five potential real mediation options, with a bespoke solution potentially required for each affected home and which provide solutions. Therefore, for that reason I cannot accept the amendment. Amendment No. 7 proposes that a report on the barriers to inclusion in the scheme be laid before the Oireachtas within three months of the Act coming into operation that sets out reforms to the defective concrete block grant scheme in order to remove potential barriers. The amendment lists the following four headings for inclusion in the report: "the operation of the damage threshold"; "the issue of semi-detached properties"; "the issue of side-by-side remediation"; and "the issue of retrospective payments". The damage threshold is an integral part of the defective concrete blocks grant scheme that is necessary to ensure homes with a minimum level of damage can access grant payments under the scheme. The Bill, primarily under sections 8 and 10, includes amendments to the principal Act to provide for the retrospective payments and these will be discussed under amendments Nos. 33 and 35. The two Committee Stage amendments covered under amendments Nos. 20 and 40 have also been brought into the debate. These amendments address issues relating to semi-detached properties and, in limited circumstances, a provision to construct an adjacent dwelling. I am not, therefore, in a position to accept the amendments. Amendment No. 60 proposes that a report examining various matters is laid before the Oireachtas within three months of the Act coming into operation. The amendment lists the following four headings for inclusion in the report: "international models of defective building compensation"; "the effectiveness and fairness of the charging order system"; "administrative options for reducing long-term homeowner liability without additional Exchequer cost"; and "the impact of the current scheme design on mortgageability and housing mobility". As Deputy Ward is aware, the defective concrete blocks grant scheme is not a compensation scheme. A charging order under the defective concrete block scheme for rental properties is required to help to ensure remediated properties remain available to rent once remediation works have been completed. Officials in the Department, with the assistance of various stakeholder groups, have worked over the past four years with key stakeholders to help to ensure matters relating to homes affected by defective concrete blocks with mortgages have been addressed. For these reasons, I cannot accept the amendment.
Sentiment score: -0.20
I will address amendments Nos. 22 and 46, tabled by Deputy Charles Ward. Amendment No. 22 proposes that a designated local authority should allow 30 days for an applicant to reply to a request for further information from the designated local authority relating to an application for an increase in the remediation option grant. It then requires a designated local authority to issue a reminder after this period has elapsed and allows a further 14 days for the applicant to respond before it considers the application to be withdrawn. Amendment No. 46 proposes the same follow-up period to be given to an application for an updated remediation option grant where the Housing Agency requests additional information. The Bill allows the form and manner for these requests for further information to be set out in regulations. Therefore, the additional requirement is not necessary. In any case, it would place an additional administrative burden on designated local authorities and the Housing Agency in processing applications for an increase in remediation option grants and an updated remediation option grant under the Bill. For those reasons, I cannot accept the amendments. As the Deputies are aware and understand, the date of 29 March 2024 was chosen as it is the same date that my Department received the most recent cost report from Society of Chartered Surveyors of Ireland. This cost report informed the work of the expert group in recommending the increase in scheme cap and rates. That included an additional uplift for the passage of time to when they were applied in October and November 2024. Homeowners who had completed remediation works prior to this stage were provided for in the first set of scheme cap and rates that were informed by the Society of Chartered Surveyors Ireland 2023 cost report.
Sentiment score: 0.07
I have already explained this. Homeowners who completed remediation works prior to this date were provided for in the first set of scheme caps and rates. They were informed by the Society of Chartered Surveyors of Ireland 2023 cost report. The updated report was to look forward and not to bring in retrospective elements to that. The rates that applied applied to transitional applicants from the previous scheme, often referred to as the 90:10 scheme, when they transferred across, but the inflationary pieces are to look forward.
Sentiment score: 0.00
I seek clarity. Amendment No. 27 is not clear to me in what it proposes to amend. Section 8 of the Bill contains a new section 17A. This section 17A does not contain a subsection (4A). In the circumstances I cannot accept the amendment.
Sentiment score: -0.08
Amendment No. 33 proposes to remove the condition that a homeowner may only apply once for payment of an increased grant and this condition is contained in the Bill primarily in recognition of the fact that homes will be remediated under contracts covered by prices set within any 12-month period. It is also placed to reduce the administrative burden on designated local authorities in processing these payments under the Bill and, therefore, it is not necessary to provide for multiple opportunities to submit a claim for payment under this section. Amendment No. 35 proposes a new additional text to the provision in the Bill. The text contained in the Bill clearly states that where designated a local authority refuses to make payment of an increased grant that along with notifying the relevant owner of that decision, it will set out the reasons for the refusal. Therefore, I cannot accept these amendments.
Sentiment score: 0.05