Apartment owners could face two-year delay for €2.5bn aid package to fix defective Celtic Tiger properties

Housing Minister Darragh O’Brien said he is examining options to refund homeowners and management companies who pay to carry out repairs themselves. He believes new legislation is not needed so long as the works are certified.

However, owners and firms who cannot afford to take on the upfront costs must wait for draft legislation to be published and passed before they can access State support.

This legislation was expected to be published last year with the scheme becoming operational this year but O’Brien said last week he expected the draft to be “published in the coming months”.

Sinn Féin housing spokesman Eoin Ó Broin said it could take up to 18 months to become law if timelines for the defective concrete blocks scheme are followed.

“Only then would people be able to apply, so if the minister doesn’t publish the legislation in the first half of this year, it is unlikely the regulatory work would be done until 2025 and then there is the process of applying, getting approved and hiring contractors,” Mr Ó Broin said.

“It would simply be unthinkable for government to continue to delay the opening of this scheme to a date whereby people wouldn’t be able to draw down money until late 2025 or 2026. That is too long.”

A Department of Housing spokesman said appropriate scrutiny is needed to ensure the scheme is fit for purpose and provides value for taxpayer money.

“Subject to the legislative process, the statutory scheme will be in place later this year,” the spokesman added.

About 100,000 apartments and duplexes built between 1991 and 2013 are thought to be affected by fire safety and water ingress issues because of defective design, poor workmanship or the use of materials which were not compliant with building regulations.

The minister said he believes about a third of affected properties have already undergone remediation.

“I am looking at options to refund, obviously on a whole-of-building basis, hard-earned money that people had to borrow or levies that they paid,” O’Brien said.

“I do not believe I will need to wait for the permanent legislation for that to do be done.”

The department said the details and mechanics have yet to be worked out, but it has been approved in principle by the Government.

An interim scheme opened last December to ensure residents of defective properties are safe in the event of fire.

Figures obtained by Ó Broin via a parliamentary question show there have been 79 applications to date for the interim scheme.

It would see about 7,500 homes in 22 local authority areas to benefit from emergency fire safety works such as the installation of fire alarms, sprinkler systems and inspections until the more comprehensive €2.5bn State scheme is finalised.

Construction Defects Alliance spokesman Pat Montague said it appeared the full scheme will be established and managed by the next government given an election must be called by this time next year.

“If the Bill is passed this side of a general election, that is as good as it will get,” he added.