Oireachtas Joint and Select Committees
Tuesday, 10 February 2026
Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Local Government and Heritage
Defective Concrete Blocks: Discussion
2:00 am
Donna McGettigan (Clare, Sinn Fein)
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I know Dr. Cleary and have seen the struggles she went through to try to become an expert in something she probably did not want to ever hear about. She brought together the Clare Pyrite Action Group that fought to get into the scheme. It was a long, hard fight. She commended the DCB section in Clare County Council but look at what she faces in the scheme after the struggle to get into it. I know she is in a mobile home. Any time I hear a wind warning, they are the first people I think of. I wonder whether their houses will still be standing tomorrow and whether the mobile homes are secure. People have to find contractors to do partial rebuilds when many contractors do not want to do them. They need large sums upfront. Many builders are unwilling to engage with the one-stop shop. There are all these issues.
I have also met families in Clare. I met one family, who are retired now, called the Histons. They will be out over €100,000. They do not have that money. They are a couple that has retired. They will not get a mortgage. They are tired and do not want to fight any more. They just do not have it in them so they will stay in this house until it falls down on top of them. That is shameful in this day and age. Who set up the panel doing the reviews? Who are these people? We spoke about the money, but what about the cost to homeowners' mental health and that of their families?