Thomas Pringle (Donegal, Independent) | Oireachtas source

The Minister is adamant that this is a much improved scheme and that everybody should accept it on that basis. I do not believe anybody has argued that this is not an improvement on the previous scheme. The problem is that it is not improved enough. The problem is that families are going to have to wait to go through the third iteration of this coming around to actually get redress and to be able to rebuild their homes. What is wrong with this scheme is that the Minister has not gone far enough. He could save a lot of money and save the State and this House a lot of time by going far enough and making it a scheme that will work.

The Minister said he is going to make the scheme through regulations, but the problem is that the regulations will be bound by what is in this Bill, so it still will not deal with the issues. I hope it does. It will deal with them for some people, but even those people who get into the scheme will be left with big costs. That is the reality. It is being dressed up as being the €2.4 billion scheme to make it look as if it is costing the State and the State is doing a great job by giving people all this money. That is not the issue. The issue is that the scheme is not going to meet the needs. People will avail of the scheme and get the scheme, but they are also going to have to cough up money themselves and put money into it, for something they did not cause. It is not their problem but a problem that has been caused by this House, by the industry involved in it and by the lax regulation formed in this House.

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