Sinn Féin spokesperson on Housing Eoin Ó Broin TD has said it looks “increasingly unlikely” that there will be any form of redress mechanism for homeowners with defective homes, due to fire safety issues and water ingress, in Budget 2020.
 
Teachta Ó Broin said:
 
“Last night I asked the Minister for Housing if he could confirm if there will be any form of redress mechanism for homeowners who have uncovered latent defects in their homes in Budget 2022. These defects most commonly take the form of fire safety issues and water ingress concerns.
 
“The working group that he established to examine this issue has been meeting, but it appears that it is much delayed, and the 12-month deadline has not been met.
 
“We have families who are faced with paying very significant levies to tackle fire safety defects across the state.
 
“The reality is if there is not some measure in the upcoming budget, even interim measures while the Minister is awaiting the full report, those families will have to wait another year before there is a prospect of any redress.
 
“For example, the Constructive Defects Alliance, a representative group for some of these homeowners has been calling for homeowners who have had to pay those levies of €10,000 to €20,000, to be able to write off the cost of capital improvements against future tax liabilities.
 
“This is a mechanism currently in place for landlords and it could easily be extended to these homeowners.
 
“My deep concern now is that there will be nothing for these people in the Budget 2022 and that is simply not good enough.”