'It will be 100% redress' - Housing Minister denies Mica bill has been 'rushed'

Eddie McNamee at his Mica-affected home in Gleneely, Co. Donegal. There are concerns that homeowners will be denied demolition and rebuild costs while the damage threshold will exclude many affected households. File photo: Niall Carson/PA

The Housing Minister says the Mica bill is not being “rushed” despite concerns from homeowners.

The Government has allowed just three weeks for the full passage of the legislation after Cabinet approved the publication of the bill yesterday. The Housing Committee will sit for six hours tomorrow in order to scrutinise the bill.

Residents say it will not provide 100% redress for many homeowners and the formula for calculating costs is flawed. There are concerns that homeowners will be denied demolition and rebuild costs while the damage threshold will exclude many affected households.

There are also concerns that the appeals process may not be fully independent. Housing Minister Darragh O’Brien said there have been weekly, if not daily, engagements with homeowners.

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“It will be 100% redress. We've upped the caps from €247,500 to €420,000. We've added significant additional costs such as storage rental, and also removing the barrier to access the scheme,” he said. “It is a greatly improved scheme. It needs to be grounded in legislation.

“I gave a commitment to homeowners in all affected counties and others who may be affected that we would greatly improve that scheme to provide 100% redress. Not only to do that, not only to do principal private residences but to extend it also to one other property that's already been registered as well.” 

The bill could likely exceed €3 billion and adequate time for full committee consideration of the bill over the next number of weeks may not be available.

“We all want to get it right,” Sinn Féin housing spokesman Eoin Ó’Broin said.

As it stands in our view, the legislation is not fit for purpose. It is itself defective.

“The formula for calculating costs is deeply flawed. The proposals for addressing cost inflation are wholly inadequate. The exclusion of foundations is contrary to the science.

“Light regulation introduced by Fine Gael and Fianna Fáil in the 80s and 90s created the context in which such rogue operators could flourish and survive. But thankfully, we now have the opportunity to clean up a mess, to do right by homeowners and crucially to deliver 100% redress.” 

Mr O’Brien said residents need this legislation through by the summer but there is no question of anyone trying to railroad it through.

“It has not been delayed. What has happened is we have taken on board all the concerns to improve this scheme. And let's be very clear, this is a significant intervention by government in this space to the tune of at least €2.7 billion. The inflation measures are built in.”