Catherine Martin (Dublin Rathdown, Green Party) | Oireachtas source

With respect, these homeowners need more than an acknowledgment of their stress. With regard to the Home Building Finance Ireland scheme, the Minister of State said the Minister for Finance had been very clear, which he was. I have his remarks. He said nothing contained in the HBFI legislation prevented a funding application like this being considered. In reply to my parliamentary question, the Minister, Deputy Donohoe, stated that the HBFI would be in a position to consider applications from apartment owners and management companies for such funding. The mixed messages here are cruel. Instead of giving people hope, the Government has given them a sense of hopelessness. They were given that hope and then the Government took it all away.

I referred to four possible ways in which the Government could assist homeowners but it has done nothing. At this stage, every time I stand up to speak in the House, the Minister present presumes I am going to ask about helping these homeowners. That is how often I have raised the issue. However, the Government has done nothing. It has not even put in place a phone helpline for people who are in need. They do not know to whom to turn. It is abundantly clear that two years down the road, the Government is intent on abandoning these homeowners. I received a letter today from a person whose family member has been hit with an unexpected bill of more than €16,000 to fix fire safety issues at an apartment building. The bill was accompanied by a stern notice that the matter should not be discussed even with friends because if the media got to know about the problem, the property would be rendered unsaleable. People are terrified and, to its shame, the Government is thriving on that terror. The Government depends on the fear those people have about speaking out publicly because doing so might mean they will not only have to pay for the defects but their properties will be rendered unsaleable. That means no political pressure on the Government and, therefore, no problem.

With respect, I hear every time this matter is raised about the Building Control (Amendment) Regulations 2014. Let us not talk about those any more because they are of no help to these people.

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