Darragh O'Brien (Dublin Fingal, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

Ba mhaith liom mo chuid ama a roinnt leis an Teachta Calleary. I welcome this important debate. Decent people who bought a house in good faith, in which to live and raise their family in their local community, have found themselves in an impossible situation through no fault of their own. Crumbling walls have turned bright dreams into darkness. Mica is a blight on these communities and it has devastated lives. I want a scheme that works for these ordinary homeowners by providing a very clear pathway out of this scourge.

Níl an Rialtas i gcoinne an rúin seo ach is fiú a rá nach réiteoidh rún Dála an fhadhb seo agus ní shocróidh sé fiú teach amháin. Is iad comhoibriú agus tiomantas a réiteoidh rudaí. Oibreoimid le gach aon gheallsealbhóir ar réitigh phraiticiúla agus bhuail mé inniu le hionadaithe na gclann atá buailte maidir leis sin.

Earlier today, I met members of the Mica Action Group. I want to advise colleagues of the course of action that I, as Minister, have taken in the past number of months. Indeed, going back to last year, one of the first events I attended as Minister was in Buncrana in Donegal last August, where I encouraged residents to engage with the scheme that had been agreed and put in place the previous January. I mentioned to residents at that meeting that my experience of previous remediation schemes was that they evolve and we only learn from them once people start engaging with them.

At the end of February this year, very particular concerns were raised with me, through the Mica Action Group in Donegal and pyrite and defective block groups in Mayo, about how the scheme was operating for them. Members opposite, as well as members of the previous Government, had initially welcomed the scheme in good faith. Now we must look at how we can change that scheme to ensure it works for people, their homes and their families. When I met the groups virtually at the end of February, I asked them, particularly the groups from Donegal, to make a submission to me highlighting the issues they had. Those issues cover many aspects, as raised by Deputies, such as upfront costs, caps, grants and all the other elements of the scheme. The submission I requested was sent to me on 29 April. In May, I met with Deputies opposite, colleagues from both Donegal and Mayo and the various groups. I gave a commitment to work through the issues raised and seek to improve the scheme.

I agree with Deputy Mac Lochlainn that it is not helpful to compare one scheme versus another. If anything, mica in blocks is far worse than the pyrite problems my constituents and other homeowners in Leinster have experienced. I visited homes in Donegal last year that were crumbling. Just before last weekend, the Taoiseach also visited homeowners and met with groups, in a very open and honest way. I acknowledge that the Leader of the Opposition has done the same. I am not about throwing political charges at people on this issue. Everybody wants to work earnestly to resolve it. Thousands of people have come up to Dublin today, representatives of whom I met this afternoon in Leinster House. I proposed to them and to homeowners in Mayo that we set up a time-bound working group. This follows discussions I had over the weekend with the group, which continued on Sunday and into Monday. The objective is to work through the specific issues that have been highlighted, with a deadline of 31 July.

We all know there is a very significant cost to the Exchequer in addressing this issue. That is just a fact. I believe changes are needed to the scheme and those changes will have the effect of increasing the cost. We need to quantify that cost, as was done when the initial scheme was put in place last January. From talking to people in Mayo, Donegal and other counties that could potentially be affected, not just today but over recent months, I know the impact this is having on their lives. I want to say very clearly to people that I, as Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage, the Taoiseach, the Cabinet and all my colleagues in government are committed to making changes to the scheme to ensure it works. There is a large body of work in this. Thousands of homes are affected and how we go about the work, either by remediating or replacing those homes, will in itself be a major task. We have a pyrite remediation scheme in regard to infill that has taken nearly ten years to remediate 2,000 homes. That shows the scale of the issue and what needs to be done as we scale up the scheme. We also need to look to the expertise we have within the Housing Agency.

I said to residents today that my proposal is that there be no red lines and we have a full and open discussion to go through the issues. The most important aspect is that we work through and agree solutions, with the residents in the room and involved in the discussions on a time-bound basis. Eamonn Jackson, Michael Doherty, Eileen Doherty and Paddy Diver told me today that, in regard to the original scheme, they felt they did not have a part in the construction of it. To be fair, it was only by engaging with that scheme that the issues became clear. There is a large commitment from the State in general in regard to the cost, but we also need to look at those who were responsible and those who have responsibility, such as the insurers, producers and lenders. Many of the homes that will be remediated and brought back to full value by the State are the assets of lenders. People are still paying mortgages on them. There is a whole aspect to look at in this regard but I do not want it to delay the changes we need to make to the scheme.

I made my proposal in good faith to residents today. In fact, I made it on Sunday. The initial response has been positive. I am committed to working with them and with Deputies opposite of all parties and none. We need to be focused and time-bound in our discussions and ensure we have a scheme that works for people. That is what I, as Minister, am committed to doing.

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