Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I hear Deputy Pringle on that. At the last meeting of the working group, which was held on 29 September, the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage, Deputy Darragh O'Brien, thanked the working group for its engagement and involvement in the process in recent months. In particular, he acknowledged the stress and hardship which affected homeowners and assured them that enhancements would be made to the scheme. The working group submitted the final report to the Minister on 30 September. As the Deputy outlined, building on the motion in the Dáil in June 2021, the Minister has written to Opposition spokespeople to try to ensure that we fully understand their input as well.

The working group has not failed. The working group and the report it put together has informed the Minister and his Department as they finalised a proposal to bring to the Government. That is what is happening now. I can commit, as others from the Government have, to families, that in the next few weeks the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage will bring a comprehensive proposal to the Government for sign off, which will involve an enormous amount of public money to support families that have been impacted in a terrible way by mica. That is something the Government will deliver on. Regarding how that is dealt with in the context of the budget next week, that is a matter for the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform and the Minister for Finance.

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