Catherine Murphy (Kildare North, Independent) | Oireachtas source

It has been specified that they were given a limit of ten days to come back. I acknowledge that it is their issue but the Minister has the power to put that levy scheme together. A stick needs to be waved at this stage because if I were in one of the 850 houses that are falling down I would want to know how the scheme will be funded, what the remediation process will be, how testing will be carried out, how the project will be managed, when the work will commence, whether a structural guarantee will be given, how multi-unit developments will be dealt with and, if fire safety and other issues are identified, how they will be dealt with. There are immediate concerns and other aspects that can be dealt with in time, although not too much time, in view of the Statute of Limitations. There is an expectation now, however, and I believe that in many cases these agencies have not stepped up to the mark. We are not in a position to force them to do so, but the Minister is. We need to know if the Minister is working on this levy scheme and if it will be front-loaded. In the event that these bodies do not step up to the mark, when will we see the machines rolling in to undertake the work? We need to deal with practicalities now because the houses will not stop disintegrating. We must stop talking and get some action on this. We are talking about days.