Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 5 February 2026
265. Deputy Eoin Ó Broin asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the interim fire safety remediation scheme including the number of schemes that have received a grant award and the value of each grant; the number of applications and units involved in those applications; and for an update on the progress of those projects not designated as pathfinders. [8807/26]
View answerGovernment approval was received on 18 September 2024 for the priority drafting of the Apartment and Duplex Defects Remediation Bill. The purpose of this legislation is to place the defects remediation scheme on a statutory footing, further to commitments contained in the Programme for Government.
The Scheme will provide supports for the remediation of relevant fire safety, structural safety and water ingress defects in purpose-built apartment buildings, including duplexes, constructed between 1991 and 2013. It is envisaged that 100% of eligible remediation costs will be funded.
The Interim Remediation Scheme has been in place since December 2023 to provide an acceptable level of fire safety in buildings, pending completion of the full remedial works.
As of end of December 2025, 230 applications to the Interim Remediation Scheme have been validated, having met the required eligibility criteria. These applications represent 20,940 residential units, across 29 local authority areas with 77% of units in the Dublin region.
In May 2024, four pathfinder projects were selected from the Interim Remediation Scheme, with three in Dublin and one in Kildare. The pathfinder process was introduced to facilitate the development of templates and standards for documents to be prepared by the Competent Professionals (CPs) working on behalf of applicants. These documents include proposals for fire safety assessments, fire safety risk assessments, interim measures remedial work plans, and other project-related paperwork. The process also allowed Local Authority Fire Services (LAFS) to engage in detail with CPs regarding the development of satisfactory remediation proposals.
Three of the four pathfinder projects, for 533 residential units, have grant agreements in place for a total of €21.3million. Remedial works have commenced at one project location.
The pathfinder projects will continue to be advanced to inform the remaining applications to the Interim Remediation and the forthcoming statutory scheme.
