This is a long, long time coming. As we know, the 2022 legislation was rammed through the Dáil. I will never forget it. The homeowners who were up in the Public Gallery were absolutely traumatised and were banging on the screens. I will never forget the look on their faces outside afterwards. They were absolutely betrayed. They had engaged honourably with Government and they were betrayed by a scheme that condemned our people in Donegal and the west of Ireland to be second-class citizens. It is absolutely shameful that we have victims of the scandals of defective concrete products all across Ireland, from east to west and north to south, and that there is first-class citizenship and there is second-class citizenship. If you are in Dublin and Leinster, the pyrite remediation scheme that has helped almost 3,000 families is genuinely 100% redress, and rightly so. They have a scheme that is delivered directly by the State. They do not negotiate with builders and developers over prices. They do not have to navigate all the paperwork and project management. They get 100% redress delivered by the State. We have said again and again that no matter where you live in Ireland, you were utterly failed and you must get 100% redress. Can the Minister imagine a scenario where two people go into a shop and one buys a small TV while the other buys a big TV? These TVs do not work. They are utterly faulty and the shop owner and the State say, "We're sorry. We don't provide any protection for the person who bought the bigger TV. It's about the cost. If they bought the small TV, we can afford to compensate them but if it was the bigger TV, they get some of the compensation but not the full compensation." Here is the reality in the west of Ireland from Donegal to Mayo right down to Limerick and Clare. People are being left behind. They have to fill huge gaps with money. I will tell the story again of the family I met on their site. They were traumatised; their house had been demolished. They downsized their house under the new plan, by the way. They had a mortgage of about €900 per month with six years left. In order to rebuild their lives with the Government scheme, they will have a mortgage that is double that at €1,800 and which has 21 years left. That is what 100% redress looks like in Donegal and the west of Ireland. There is a small number of families this scheme can work for; maybe they have family in the building game or can access €50,000 or €60,000. We have a situation where people are living in shocking conditions but cannot afford to go through the scheme, so they are just left behind - second-class citizenship. The Society of Chartered Surveyors Ireland was tasked with looking at the costings in 2023. In March 2024, the society reported to Government. The Minister had the flexibility in the legislation to increase the cap by 10% and the caps on the square meterage. The Minister did that in or around October 2024 and, at the same time, promised that those already going through the scheme would be able to avail of the increased cap. That was a huge thing because we are talking about tens of thousands of euro. That is huge in people's lives. Over a year later, we finally have this amendment. It could have been done long ago. It could have been done within hours, with the political will. This is incrementalist. This is second-class citizenship, folks. The Minister knows it is wrong. I have responses from Ministers, including the Minister, Deputy Browne, and his predecessor saying out loud that it is about money. If people live in houses, which have to be demolished and rebuilt, it is too much money and the Government will not give them 100% redress. It said it never actually called it "redress". Minister after Minister and Department official after Department official has come before committees and come into this Dáil and called it 100% redress on the record of these Houses. Then, in a response to a parliamentary question, it is, "No, actually, it's our scheme of last recourse. We're doing you a great favour." This is second-class citizenship.
Sentiment score: -0.03
I will continue for one more minute with the forbearance of my colleague. What is the issue with these incrementalist amendments? The issue is the Government is still excluding people. It put a date of March 2029. It was bad enough the Government took over a year but now it is excluding dozens of families. It is so cruel. They will be out tens of thousands of euro. Why did the Government put the date of 29 March 2024 to coincide with the publication of the SCSI report? That does not stand up because that report would have looked at costings into 2023. I ask the Minister not to be cruel and not to exclude dozens of families who are desperately waiting on this money. They are panicking that this will not be conceded by the Minister. Please concede our point. We will, of course, put in amendments. Finally, there is the semi-detached issue. For a holiday home owner, for someone who owns more than one rental property and for most people who cannot afford to go through the scheme, that semi-detached building will still stand. They will still be knocking down semi-detached buildings. This is madness. Any builder or engineer would ask what the Minister is playing at here. I ask the Minister to please listen to those of us who are on the ground in the west of Ireland and to do what is right and fair. He knows this is wrong. I ask him to please stop it, confront his officials and do what is right.
Sentiment score: -0.04
Hear, hear.
Sentiment score: 0.00
Hear, hear.
Sentiment score: 0.00