10. Deputy Roderic O'Gorman asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage for an update on the progress of the legislation to underpin the apartment defects remediation scheme; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [35771/25]

Sentiment score: 0.02

The Minister will be well aware of the anguish, worry and stalled lives of families living in apartments with structural defects, be they fire safety issues or water leakages, which they experience through no fault of their own. The defective apartment remediation scheme is a lifeline that will finally allow these families to move on. The Minister will appreciate how important that particular scheme is. We need a clear timeline for the legislation and a drawdown date for the money for both the statutory and the interim remediation schemes.

Sentiment score: -0.06

I thank the Minister. There are three real elements here. There is the statutory scheme, which will look after fire safety, structural issues and water ingress. The interim remediation scheme is solely for fire safety works. We then have the pathfinder projects, which are under way and are probably a subcategory of the interim remediation scheme. Has any money been paid out under the four pathfinder projects or under the interim remediation scheme? If not, when does the Minister expect money to be paid out under those schemes? There is an issue to do with EU public procurement on the interim remediation scheme. I was talking to someone who was at an AGM of their management company recently who was told no money is being paid out because it is caught up in EU issues. Will the Minister explain clearly what the procurement issue is, when it will be addressed and when money will be drawn down under the interim scheme?

Sentiment score: 0.07

I appreciate the Minister's offer of a briefing. I will certainly take him up on that because residents are really worried. They are getting this information from their management company, which says there is a blockage. The Minister made a number of comments that if any of them are listening will probably make them even more nervous in terms of delay. There needs to be clarity. I accept his point that it is a live situation, but it is really important to understand. My understanding is that no money has been drawn down under the interim scheme as yet. The Minister might clarify that in his concluding reply. I will definitely take a briefing on the interim scheme. There was some newspaper coverage over the weekend, based on documents prepared by the Minister's officials, that stated there was a belief that the scheme would open to applications before the end of the year. If the Minister is saying he wants to bring it to pre-legislative scrutiny in the autumn, I presume that was a massively optimistic read of the situation. Are we looking at a drawdown date in 2026 for the statutory scheme? Will he confirm whether he expects the statutory scheme to be up and running in 2025 or 2026?

Sentiment score: 0.11