Mary Lou McDonald (Dublin Central, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

We can agree that the scale of this is huge. I hope we can also agree that, along with builders and developers, the State bears considerable responsibility for this fiasco. Let us remember the details. We talk about defects. We have families living in homes that are not safe, that do not have adequate fire safety protection and, in the worst-case scenarios, have inadequate fire escapes. That is terrifying. There can be no excuse for delays to the emergency funding. The Minister, Deputy Darragh O'Brien, would want to get the finger out. He met these families in January and we are in November. It is not acceptable to leave people in this scenario on the hook for huge and crippling sums of money, with the real anxiety and fear that brings for families. I would like a specific date from the Taoiseach for the emergency funding. Likewise with the legislation, this has drifted and drifted. We know the liability here is very large but we also know where the culpability lies. I hope we can all agree as a Dáil that hardworking families, homeowners and renters cannot be left in this desperate situation any longer.

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