Michael Healy-Rae (Kerry, Independent) | Oireachtas source

At the beginning, I would like to thank sincerely Deputy Ó Broin and the Sinn Féin Party for tabling another excellent motion before Dáil Éireann, because it is only right to acknowledge the seriousness of the crisis that people are facing.

The first time this issue came to the fore in a big, public way was through the mica scandal, which started out in Donegal. I was so impressed with the nice people who came down to the Convention Centre Dublin, where we were then, and where they had been protesting during the Covid-19 times. Those people and families highlighted what they were facing. One issue that struck me at the time was that some people were doubly affected. There was a couple that might have been married and if one of the partners had a house before getting married and the other partner had a house, they actually had two properties that were falling down around them. It was a horrible situation. Meeting the children who were living in homes like that really brought home what can happen if people have a defective house.

The report by the working group, which was established by the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage, Deputy Darragh O’Brien, to look at the defects issue, has found that problems such as a lack of fire safety material, structural defects and water ingress are present in up to 80% of apartments and duplexes built between 1991 and 2013. This equates to between 62,500 and 100,000 units. That is frightening. We know that apartments, houses or anything that is built correctly is great, but there is nothing in the world worse than an apartment that is built badly.

Someone in an apartment is in a box in the middle of a big box and if the whole lot is bad, my God, there is nothing worse. The price apartments cost during the boom and the Celtic tiger was frightening. A young girl from my home county of Kerry, which I am here to represent, came to Dublin, worked tremendously hard and bought an apartment here. Unfortunately, it is one of the affected apartments. Apartment owners were told at a recent housing meeting they had to put in the order of €60,000 into a fund. That is frightening money on top of already paying a mortgage. The young person in question is working and just trying to survive and keep her own. She was doing very well to come to Dublin and buy a place. It was a great thing for a young person to do but she got caught. The State has to look at cases such as that.

However we manage it, we have to put our shoulders to the wheel for those people. We have to stand shoulder to shoulder with them. We have to give them redress and be of assistance. It is only right and proper. They are taxpayers and workers. Look at what they contributed in VAT through the cost of the purchase of their properties. It is very important to assist them. That is why tonight is so important and why it is so important that people listen to this debate and take on board what Sinn Féin is seeking, which we will support. I ask the Government to rise out like it never did before and say it will stand shoulder to shoulder to face this problem, not just in Donegal but throughout the rest of the country where we have defective homes. People have invested their hearts, souls, lives, work, family and effort. Everything they have goes into their accommodation, whether it is a house, an apartment or other accommodation. It is where they wish to live and raise their families and there is nothing worse or more horrible than being in a defective place.

We have all seen it ourselves back over the years. If a wall is damp or bad, it is like a plague that will not go away. It will not go away or disappear. It has to be put right from the outside in. It cannot be camouflaged or painted over and one cannot let on it is not there. It is unhealthy for people and not good for them. We have old housing stock and we understand why that might be bad but we expect a new property to be good. Someone who is after paying through the nose for a property and is paying money for it every month but is married to a bank that has no sympathy, understanding or empathy will want that property to be right and good.

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