Ms Lisa Hone:

The lack of confidence is coming from a number of areas. The first is the science. Homeowners are tapped into what is going on with the research in Donegal. There was research and commentary published recently. There was evidence of internal sulphur attack causing degradation in the home in all areas of the concrete, with oxidation of pyrrhotite observed in stripped foundations at an early stage, with sulphur being released into the concrete. They are tapped into stuff like that. People are watching and waiting. Why would you engage in a scheme which does not help you to do the right thing? Even option 1, demolition, does not include foundations, so that is on your own back. The other thing is, if you engage with the scheme, is your house going to be mortgageable at the end? Even if you work within the parameters of option 1 of the scheme, from Engineers Ireland and from the mortgage lenders, we do not have the assurances that if we go through this process, do exactly what we are told and come out the other side, we will be able to remortgage or insure our homes or they will be worth anything like they should be. There are also the financial issues in terms of cash flow. Thousands of euro are needed upfront to progress along this process. If you do not have that, you effectively cannot progress. There are also shortfalls.

I will give a quick example. For a current home of 156 sq. m, the actual cost would be pretty much €359,000. The grant cost is just below €320,000. That is a shortfall of almost €40,000. That is the reality of what is going on. As Ms Ward said in her opening statement, it is not 100% redress. I can give more examples with smaller homes. For a modest semi-detached home, there is a €30,000 shortfall. I could go on. I have examples and more examples and, guess what, everybody is having to find tens of thousands of euro. When you get to the bigger homes, that pushes towards €100,000 or more in some cases.