Pearse Doherty (Donegal, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

Tá an scannal ó thaobh cúiteamh do theaghlaigh atá cráite ag míoca agus pirít ag dul ar aghaidh go fóill. Chuala muid ar fad na scéalta ó na teaghlaigh agus tá sár-jab déanta acu ag cur a gcuid pointí trasna le linn an fheachtais seo. Ar an 15 Meitheamh, thacaigh an tAire agus an Rialtas le rún ó Shinn Féin a thabharfadh 100% cúiteamh do na daoine seo, ach tuigim ó bheith ag caint leo aréir nár bhuail an tAire leo go fóill agus nár thug sé cuairt ar na ceantair seo leis an scannal agus an briseadh croí a fheiceáil dó féin. Tugann siad an cuireadh don Aire é seo a dhéanamh anois.

I want to raise with the Minister the mica and pyrite redress scheme, which is currently the subject of discussion between various Departments, including the Minister's own Department. The families involved are living in homes that are literally crumbling around them. That is a result of light-touch regulation and no regulation during the Celtic tiger period. It is important to say again that none of this is the fault of those families that are affected. I am sure we can all agree in this House that their campaign has touched the hearts of many people throughout the State. They have shown great resolve in their campaign for justice and for 100% redress. They have laid out their case, opened up their hearts and told their own personal stories to the entire nation. Now they need the Government to step up for them. They need the Government to have their backs and to be in their corner, and that includes the Minister.

On 15 June, the Dáil unanimously voted for a motion which mandates the Government to deliver 100% redress. The Minister supported the motion and now he needs to deliver on it. I am aware from those involved and the people I spoke to last night that thus far, the Minister has not had the opportunity to meet with them or to visit the areas affected. The families would like to extend that opportunity to the Minister before he sits down at the Cabinet table to make a decision on this matter. On behalf of the families affected in Donegal and elsewhere, I ask the Minister if he will take up the offer from them to meet with those affected and, ideally, to visit the areas affected. They have said that they will meet with the Minister any time, anywhere, in person or online. The Minister should do that before he sits down to make a decision.

The other key issue at play is who will manage the scheme if it is agreed and is acceptable to those involved. The families are very clear on this. They want the Housing Agency to manage this from start to finish. That has numerous benefits which the Minister should be concerned about, not least the benefit of economies of scale, which will help deliver better value for money. The opposite of that is that it would leave those devastated, crushed families competing for materials, personnel and at the mercy of construction inflation. Just like with the pyrite resolution scheme in Leinster, the Housing Agency, with its proven expertise, should be tasked with the responsibility of project managing the restoration of the affected homes in partnership with the families, from the tendering of works, to the appointment of contractors, to ensuring quality and right through to providing a State guarantee for the works to the families.

Does the Minister believe that the Housing Agency should be responsible for managing the scheme, delivering better value for money, dealing with economies of scale and ensuring quality? Will he take up the offer the families have asked me to make to him to meet with them in person, preferably physically at the locations? None of us, even including those who represent the people who live in the counties most affected, can comprehend the scale of the problem until we hear what it means to the families living in those houses, until we reach into those blocks that crumble in our hands and talk to the children about how they are not having a normal childhood. That offer is being extended to the Minister today.

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