There have been calls for a levy on the construction sector with over 100,000 properties affected by Celtic Tiger building defects.
Pat Montague, a spokesperson for Construction Defects Alliance, has said that fire safety defects are the greatest issue. It is estimated that the defects could cost the state €2.8 billion to repair with each apartment costing €27,500 on average to repair.
Speaking to Newstalk Breakfast about the impacts on those living in the defected properties, and on insurance, in particular, Montague explained that It becomes much more difficult to get and it becomes much more expensive. “The excess, particularly for fire damage, goes through the roof,” he said.
When asked about the possibility of getting the developers to pay for these defects he said: “That angle of trying to get to the builders has been looked at already, and unfortunately, legally, that’s just not possible because they set up companies to protect themselves which they liquidate after every development so there is nobody to actually sue.”
Montague called for a levy on the construction sector: “In the UK, 38 of the 53 big builders have actually agreed to sort out any defects with their own buildings and to contribute to a building safety fund to remediate buildings where the builders have gone bust,” he said.
Montague also said that the state has a responsibility due to the defects being breaches of their building regulations. ”They happened because it was inadequate oversight and supervision during the construction process,” he said before adding, “the construction sector has the biggest responsibility here and they should not be let off the hook.”
Montague told Newstalk’s Shane Coleman that there were three types of defects reported including fire safety defects which he said are the “largest by far.”
Montague explained that apartments are supposed to be compartmentalised from each other to stop the spread of fire and smoke in the event of a fire. “Unfortunately, up to 90,000 of those apartments appeared to either not have what’s called fire stopping put in place or it’s been put in place totally inadequately,” he said.
Other types of defects reported included water ingress where water finds a way to enter a property which Montague said is usually caused by balconies or leaky roofs. Water ingress can cause mould and damp patches on walls and floors.
Montague explained that a much smaller element which was found is serious structural defects which he said may be problems with foundations. He said that the defects are found right across the country but the highest concentration is in Dublin where the vast bulk of the apartments was built.
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