Debate contribution: Defective Premises Bill: Final Stage

Debate contribution by Mr Daniel McCrossan on 2 July 2024.

MLA

Mr Daniel McCrossan

Party at the time

Social Democratic and Labour Party

Date

2 July 2024

Type

Debate contribution

Business

Executive Committee Business

Heading

Defective Premises Bill: Final Stage

Assembly identifier

Official Report component 4529042

Read the official Assembly record

Text

As I have stated at the Bill's various stages, accelerated passage is not the proper way to do business in the House. It has led to concerns being raised, concerns that I raised at the Committee for Communities. They were thrashed out between members and across the House in recent weeks. It would have added to the Bill and reassurance would certainly have been provided had we had a Committee Stage to ensure due scrutiny of the Bill. That said, the Minister and the Department were adamant about proceeding on the basis of accelerated passage to ensure alignment with the rest of the UK. Concerns have been raised, and the Royal Society of Ulster Architects (RSUA), as one of the witnesses that attended the Committee, has been vocal about its concerns about the legislation. Just this week, it outlined four areas in correspondence to me and other Members across the House. Its concerns are:

"1. Hundreds of NI homeowners seeking to claim under the Cladding Safety Scheme are likely to be disadvantaged if the Defective Premises Bill passes. 2. Passing the Defective Premises Bill will not mean that the people of Northern Ireland will be afforded the same protections as those in England under the Building Safety Act 2022. 3. The Department for Communities has been on the go-slow in answering questions relating to the Defective Premises Bill. As a result, MLAs are being asked to pass a law without robust information on its consequences. 4. The Department for Communities has demonstrated a fundamental misunderstanding of the implications of retrospectively extending the liability period to 30 years for claims under the Defective Premises Order."

It goes on. In correspondence to me and other MLAs, they say that they have written to the Department on a number of occasions and that the responses from the Department were slow or non-existent; in fact, its most recent concerns will not be addressed until the Bill passes. Therefore, I am a bit concerned about whether the Minister has taken on board the concerns that are shared by various stakeholders. The Minister has cited a number of bodies in the construction industry that the Department is engaging with, but the Royal Society of Ulster Architects has been very, very vocal in its concerns. I am keen to know from the Minister whether he will update the House on what engagement he has had with it, whether he has taken on board its concerns and why it is not going to receive a response to its legitimate concerns until after the Bill is voted on today. That is a concern for me and other Members.

Indeed, the Minister and the House will be conscious that I tried to table an amendment to provide further protection for people whose homes are affected by mica, pyrite, RAAC or any defective material that would render their homes unsafe and prevent their being able to live in them. It is a scourge that is causing huge stress across the island of Ireland, particularly in border counties around Donegal. A key question for the Minister, following what he said in the House during the debate on a previous stage of the Bill, is this: if someone whose home is 15 years old and crumbling with mica comes forward to the Department, are they protected under the legislation? What protections do they have under it? From what I gathered from the Minister previously, he and the Department feel that those who are affected are adequately protected. I would like strong reassurance from the Minister on that. With all due respect, I think that he understands that it is a serious issue and that anyone who is currently affected is in a very stressful situation. I believe that we are about to see only the tip of the iceberg. Constituencies across Northern Ireland and areas across the border are badly affected. It makes no sense that homes across West Tyrone — in places like Castlederg, Killeter, Aghyaran and Strabane — to Derry and Fermanagh and South Tyrone would not be affected by those defective materials when the homes of many thousands of people have been destroyed by them just a few short miles over the border. The border is free-flowing. It does not really exist in practical terms for me and others who live in the areas along it. I am clear that we will see a significant number of homes in my and neighbouring constituencies affected or potentially affected when the effects of those defective materials become obvious in the not-too-distant future. I seek reassurance from the Minister on that as well. It is important that the Minister outline the exact engagement that his Department has had with stakeholders. Certainly, the main criticism that I am receiving in my inbox and to my office — as, I know, other MLAs are — is that there has been minimal engagement, concerns have not been listened to and little reassurance has been given about the potential impact of the legislation or its unintended consequences. I seek those reassurances and updates from the Minister.

849 words. Text as published by the Northern Ireland Assembly.

Assessment

Not flagged

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Assessed 21 October 2026 at 10:56 UTC by jev-1.13.0 (requested as typesafe/jev) under rubric 2026.10-r9, methodology 1.9.

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