Paschal Donohoe (Dublin Central, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I thank Deputy Doherty for raising this immensely important issue. I want to begin by acknowledging the extraordinary trauma, anxiety and stress that all those who have been afflicted by the awful change in the building blocks of their homes have confronted and endured. I have been aware of this issue because I worked as a member of the previous Government to bring forward the scheme, which in light of the continuing challenges the families face, the Government now accepts needs to be strengthened. This is why I am working very closely on this matter with the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage, Deputy Darragh O'Brien, on a regular basis. The Government is committed to bringing forward a strengthened scheme to respond to the anguish, human need and to the basic need for the stability and safety of a family home. We all know how important that is to families all over the country. We are committed to bringing that forward. What we are working on at the moment is that we have to acknowledge that in addition to the huge need that Deputy Doherty and other Deputies have raised, including Deputy McHugh, and the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine, Deputy McConalogue, we are also aware that the cost of dealing with this issue is very significant. We are aware not just of the challenges of mica, but other challenges across the country in relation to how homes have been built and what their future is. As a Government we need to ensure that we are confident that we are dealing with this in a way that meets the needs that are being raised with us by those families directly, while being conscious of the cost involved in this and also dealing with the important point Deputy Doherty raised, which is how such a scheme is administered and how it is delivered not only in his community but potentially in other communities that are afflicted by this issue.

The Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage, Deputy Darragh O'Brien, the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform, Deputy Michael McGrath, and I are currently considering this issue. Of course, it is a challenge regarding how we can respond in a humane, compassionate and effective way, which we are committed to doing. We will be making this decision conscious of significant amounts of money being spent on this, which we acknowledge needs to happen. We must focus on ensuring that as this money is being spent, it is being done in a way that can deliver speed of execution, confidence about being able to meet the needs, and does also reflect on what we have learnt from how other schemes have been administered across the country, in particular for pyrite. This is an issue that we are working on at the moment. The Ministers, Deputy Darragh O'Brien and Deputy Michael McGrath, and I are going to continue with the work, which we are doing as quickly as we can. We want to get this right.

I will not have the opportunity to travel to Donegal as we move through this process, but I have met families who have been afflicted by this. I am aware of the horror when a home turns into a property that is falling down in front of your eyes. Of course, I am aware of the anxiety that is causing and the deep and profound stress. The Minister, Deputy Darragh O'Brien, has met the families involved on many occasions. He has concluded a process that began at the end of June and lasted all the way up until the end of September.

I know he has been in regular and direct contact with many of the families that are very active on this issue. We will of course be guided by the input they are giving, recognising the scale of the matter. We must also be conscious of the funding that will be involved in this while dealing with the execution and governance questions that Deputy Doherty has correctly raised.

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