Charlie McConalogue (Donegal, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

In pointing out the dates to the Minister of State I am simply pointing out the terms of reference given to the committee by his predecessor, the former Deputy Paudie Coffey, at the outset. That was on 31 May. Obviously, the assessment made by the Minister of State's Department was that it was achievable to have the report dealt with in that time. I am not picking these figures out of the air. The Minister of State's Department set the deadline of 31 May. It then pushed that out to the end of October, and it has now it pushed out further to the end of December. As the Minister of State will understand, this is a source of great stress for families.

It is achievable to have the report dealt with in the period provided but I ask the Minister of State and his good offices to ensure that every support is given to the panel to have the work completed by the end of the year. Following on from that, it will be about the level of support the Minister of State's Department can provide to the families who cannot afford to fix these houses. Some of them cannot be fixed, but the panel will recommend what is possible in that regard. I ask the Minister of State to address the point about the support he will be in a position to offer following the report.

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