Richard O'Donoghue (Limerick County, Independent) | Oireachtas source

The Minister is aware that I have a background in construction and know what I am talking about when it comes to construction. I acknowledge the report of the mica working group and the urgency of getting 100% redress in a speedy fashion for the families affected in Mayo, Donegal and other counties, including Limerick. I have cases in Limerick dating from the late 1980s to 2006. All of the block materials used in the houses in question came from outside County Limerick, not from quarries in Limerick.

I will address a separate issue related to pyrite. I recently read the Surveyors Journal, which provides an update on industry news and is published by the SCSI. I have a copy with me. It states:

Once the problem is confirmed to be pyrite, a solicitor should be consulted to review the various contracts, guarantees or warranties and insurances in place, and to establish whether legal action should be taken to recover costs for the work from a third party. To date the courts have generally found that liability rests with the quarry owner.

Has the Government tried to get compensation for homeowners from wherever the blocks originated? What about the manufacturers' insurance, for example, loss of business or business interruption insurance? What about the banks' part in this? They assess risk and charge accordingly. They got this one wrong. To give the people 100% redress the Minister must go after the insurance of the quarries and banks. Insurance companies charge every householder big insurance premiums to insure their houses. If the Minister gives 100% redress, will he give a guarantee that he will go after the banks that taxpayers bailed out? It is time they paid us back.

HomeBond, in a report, has taken the view that it is not legally obliged to provide compensation and that liability for major defects only applies when a defect is the result of negligence on the part of a third party or a builder, or their subcontractors. Following previous court rulings, HomeBond has said that the quarries are liable under the Liability for Defective Products Act 1991. This is the shocking part. That statement was printed in 2012 when we had a Fine Gael-led Government. The then Minister with responsibility for housing, Deputy Alan Kelly, who is present, gives out to the Government all the time, yet he did nothing about it at the time. In 2012, the Deputy, as part of a Fine Gael-led Government, sat on their hands and did nothing about it but he can sit on the Opposition side.

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