Ward calls on the government to give vulnerable homeowners extra options

100% Redress Party TD Charles Ward has called on the Government to fundamentally change its approach to the defective concrete crisis by giving vulnerable homeowners the option of having the State take responsibility for rebuilding their homes.

Raising the issue directly with the Taoiseach, Deputy Ward called for an amendment to the Remediation of Dwellings Affected by Defective Concrete Blocks Act 2022 to allow a public body or State construction company to take responsibility for demolition and rebuilding where a homeowner does not have the physical, financial, cognitive or emotional capacity to manage the process themselves.

Deputy Ward highlighted the case of an elderly constituent living with dementia whose wife has since passed away. He is now facing the enormous task of navigating engineers, contractors, finance, demolition and rebuilding on his own.

“For a man living with dementia and dealing with the loss of his wife, the expectation that he can navigate a complex construction project is simply unrealistic.He has worked all his life. He has contributed to society. He has paid his taxes. He has done everything that was expected of him. Yet through no fault of his own, he is now trapped in a defective home.”

Deputy Ward said the case is representative of a much wider problem facing vulnerable homeowners across the defective concrete crisis.

“Every day, I am sitting in kitchens with people who are exhausted, frightened and at the end of their tether,” Deputy Ward said. “These are not people looking for special treatment. They are people who have done everything right in their lives and are now dealing with a crisis that was not of their making.”

“Some are elderly. Some are living with disabilities, dementia, depression or additional needs. Some simply do not have the capacity to coordinate engineers, contractors, finance and a complete rebuild of their home. We cannot sit in Leinster House and say that a scheme is available and therefore everyone can access it in practice. There is a fundamental difference between having access to a scheme and having the capacity to use it.”

Deputy Ward said that the State must recognise that some homeowners are not capable of becoming project managers simply because their homes have been destroyed by defective concrete.

“These people are stuck,” he said. “They are living in homes that have failed through no fault of their own, and some are facing the prospect of spending what should be their final years living with fear, uncertainty and distress. The Government needs to stop asking vulnerable people to find a way through a system they are simply not equipped to navigate and instead provide a route where the State can step in and do the rebuilding for them.”

Deputy Ward said the proposed State-led option would not replace the existing remediation scheme, but would provide an additional route for homeowners who cannot reasonably manage the process themselves.

“This is not an unreasonable demand. It is a question of basic fairness and humanity. If the State accepts that these homes must be remediated, then it must also accept that there are vulnerable people who cannot physically or mentally manage the process of getting their homes rebuilt. The Government must amend the legislation and give these people a genuine alternative. They have waited long enough. They have suffered long enough. They deserve to have a safe home again.”