Cathal Crowe (Clare, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

Exemption from paying local property tax is not a new phenomenon. It has been there for a number of years for new builds but also for houses in what were deemed to be unfinished estates. What we are talking about here in terms of defective blocks, pyrite and homes that are cracking from the gable end down is much different. It far outweighs any other category of exemption we have had heretofore. People in County Clare need some undertaking that when an application for a county is lodged, and it is imminent, the same positive undertakings that have been given this week from Government relating to counties Donegal and Mayo would stand in principle for those in County Clare.

Overall, something is fundamentally wrong with the redress scheme. It is cumbersome. There is a redress scheme for counties Donegal, Mayo and Limerick. There have been defective blocks in County Louth as well. It is run off on a county-by-county basis. I cannot for the life of me fathom why there is not a nationwide scheme for this. It is conceivable in any county that when someone built a house in the 1980s or 1990s, that person drove over the Border with a pick-up truck, brought 300 or 400 concrete blocks and used them in the construction of a house. People do not source materials only from within their own county. This goes around the country. The remediation scheme also needs to be a nationwide scheme, not county by county.

People in County Clare want a redress scheme more than anything and that will be coming very quickly. It should not be as cumbersome, however. The scheme in counties Donegal and Mayo took years to devise and implement and now we are seeing it is again coming up short. People are also somewhat aggrieved. I know some of this falls under the remit of the Minister, Deputy O'Brien. I appreciate that. I have been speaking to him almost daily lately.

The expert review group, which looks at some of the flaws and functionality of the redress scheme, will conclude its work by the end of the month and County Clare has been left out of that. Those people need to be very much brought into the room. In my book, there is no point in reinventing the wheel. Schemes in counties Donegal and Mayo are going to be overhauled, it is hoped to positive effect. The Clare scheme should not be left behind, however.

I am of the view that a major public building in a certain county has pyrite in it. Many people hope it does not. I hope it does for the simple reason it will advance the cause of County Clare. It will ensure we are no longer laggards and we will be going to the top of the list. I hope that is proven because in every Irish property from the traditional cottages of the 1800s, the cornerstone was where the building got its strength. In County Clare, they are cracking from the cornerstone up. You can put your hands through the gaps. If they are not dealt with, these buildings will collapse like that apartment in Miami, Florida last week in which lives were lost. That is where it is down to. I thank the Minister for his time and his reply this evening.

See this speech in context