Damien English (Meath West, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

The people the Deputy represents recognise that we have to wait for the report before we can come up with the best way forward. There was a process to be followed. I have seen the process in action in other situations and it has worked quite well. When I engage with people directly, they understand and are clear on what has to happen. I am not sure what the Deputy's difficulty is with that, but I have to wait until I get the report before we can do anything further. The Deputy is right that initially we had hoped to have a report in May, but the panel only came together in April. It was clear then that we would not have a report in May. I am sure the Deputy would accept that. No one expects magic. We have to give the panel enough time to do its work.

From the submissions and other details that have been received and the reports on people's homes, the panel members have gathered a good deal of data on many houses. There are more than 300 members of the Mica Action Group. Quite a number of houses are affected in Mayo as well.

Moreover, 450 local authority houses potentially are affected. Many houses are involved in this regard and we have a lot of information. As more information probably has come into the expert panel than it originally envisaged, the panel has asked for a little more time with the report. I accept that and will work with it but it is not being kicked out until next year or two or three years' time. It will be an additional couple of months, which is all right from my perspective if it leads to the proper analysis of the problem and the possible solutions.

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