Remedying defects in 100,000 Celtic Tiger-era apartments could cost up to €2.8bn

With average remediation costs of more than €25,000 and just 10% of apartments having been repaired, the bill could come in anywhere between €1.7bn and €2.8bn. 

Tánaiste Leo Varadkar told the Dáil on Thursday that there would have to be State intervention.

It is understood that the key issue found — in 40%-70% of homes — was fire safety. 

This is largely down to inadequate fire stopping, with many homes having no fire-stopping measures. This, experts have warned, removes the so-called "golden hour" for apartment owners — the time it would take for a fire to spread in a building.

A further 25%-50% of units have some form of water ingress, which can lead to damp, with 5%-25% having structural issues.

Sources said that the working group has warned that some owners management companies (OMCs) are reluctant to begin any works in case a Government scheme is not retrospective.

Labour leader Ivana Bacik told the Dáil on Thursday that families are "living in fear".

There is the fear of debt due to the cost of fixing the defects, but also a fundamental fear about safety in their homes, primarily due to fear of fire because these homes were defectively built,” she said.

The Tánaiste said he had seen the issue in his Dublin West constituency and that the "basic principle" was that the Government would assist.

“People have been sent bills, sometimes for €10,000 and sometimes for as much as €60,000 per apartment, to carry out necessary repairs," he said. 

The inevitable happens; some people can afford to pay, some cannot afford to pay, and some people will not pay.

“Therefore, the money cannot be raised and the work cannot be carried out, so people are left in a terrible limbo, unable to sell the apartment and they are worried about whether it is even safe for them to continue to live there.”