Martin Browne (Tipperary, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

Homeowners in counties Donegal, Mayo, Clare, Sligo, Limerick, Tipperary and up to seven other counties are living in buildings that were built with defective blocks, foundations and other damaging materials like mica and pyrite. They are feeling the impact of light-touch regulation of building product surveillance that was introduced by Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael in the 1990s. This has left many, like the families in the Gallery, to live in crumbling homes for more than a decade.

For those in County Tipperary, there is still uncertainty about the future and this is something that needs to be addressed. Indeed, the Minister said last week that further local authority areas can be added as the necessary evidence supports inclusion. This is no way to treat homeowners who are dealing with such disruption to their lives. We need to end the uncertainty.

The Bill we have seen falls far short on a number of counts, however, which is another failure on the Minister's watch. An effective scheme is one that addresses the needs of each household that is affected, and being fully encompassing is key. I will mention as an example how homeowners who opt to build a smaller home because the grant will not cover the full cost of replacement are being punished with a further reduction in the grant. The damage threshold, as designed in the Bill, will exclude many homeowners. This cannot be allowed to happen. It must be amended to allow for prioritisation of the worst-affected homes and not the exclusion of affected homes. The exclusion of large numbers of buildings such as holiday homes, community buildings and small business premises is another hole in this legislation.

I will go back to the need to scrutinise properly a Bill that will have such profound consequences for households. The Joint Committee on Housing, Local Government and Heritage was practically railroaded into having to engage in what can only be described as an accelerated scrutiny of this Bill. As one homeowner said, it has been under a week since the publication of the heads and the draft text of the Bill, so there has been very little time to engage with the proposals and to format this information. To allow an extremely limited amount of time to scrutinise a Bill of this importance is a masterclass by the Government in shirking accountability. The affected mica and pyrite homeowners have submitted a significant number of amendments and are urging all Deputies on both sides of this Chamber to support these to fix the defects in the Minister's Bill. The Minister must accept these proposed changes and ensure no guillotine is imposed. It is high time to do the right thing by homeowners, listen to their concerns, get this right and help them get through the hell they are dealing with daily.

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