Government to agree 100% redress scheme for mica-hit homeowners

Protesters marching in Dublin in October to demand 100% redress for mica homeowners. The Government is to agree a remediation scheme which offers 100% redress up to €420,000. File picture: Leah Farrell/RollingNews.ie

The Government is to on Tuesday agree a remediation scheme for mica-affected homes which offers 100% redress up to €420,000.

Housing Minister Darragh O'Brien will bring the delayed scheme aimed at remediating the thousands of homes that were built with defective blocks.

The Coalition leaders on Monday agreed to Mr O'Brien's €2.2bn proposal, which will see homeowners given up to a cap of €420,000 for remediation or rebuilding of their homes. There is acceptance in the Government that the overall figure will rise as more homes are discovered to have used the blocks.

Homeowners will contact their local authority to gain entry to the scheme before a Housing Agency engineer advises whether a home should be demolished and rebuilt or repaired. 

Rental homes will only be covered if they fall under the Residential Tenancies Board, so holiday homes will not be included. Mr O'Brien has also agreed that a senior counsel will carry out an investigation into how the blocks became so widely used.

Roughly 6,600 homes may require repair

Roughly 6,600 homes may require repair under the auspices of the new redress scheme, not including homes not eligible for the scheme currently in place. A report recently found that the cost of a full compensation scheme could reach €3.2bn. So far in Donegal, the current scheme, which is run by the county council, has recommended that about a quarter of affected houses be demolished.

The current mica redress scheme only covers 90% of the rebuild costs and requires homeowners to foot 10% of the bill, which has been reported as six-figure sums in some circumstances.

Mica redress campaigner Paddy Diver said there was a "myth" that homeowners were rejecting €420,000. He said that reports that the scheme would have a €138 per sq ft cap meant the scheme would be insufficient for homeowners. However, sources said that figure was only ever referenced as an average cost.

Mr Diver said that the Government "should be ashamed of themselves" for "trying to push the myth that homeowners were rejecting €420,000".

Meanwhile, Foreign Affairs Minister Simon Coveney is expected to bring a report which reviewed the appointment of special envoys. The report was commissioned following the controversy surrounding the appointment of former minister Katherine Zappone earlier this year.

Children's Minister Roderic O'Gorman will also bring a 12-month review of the National Childcare Scheme to Cabinet.