Rose Conway-Walsh (Mayo, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

One of the biggest economic and social scandals this country has seen is the defective blocks scandal. Last night, hundreds of homeowners in Mayo gathered at the Great National Hotel in Ballina to tell us how the defective blocks scheme is not working for them. The anguish of trying to access this scheme that is clearly not fit for purpose was palpable. The buck now stops with the Taoiseach. They are looking to the Taoiseach, as Head of Government, to end the nightmare because the Minister and his Department officials are just not listening. He is certainly not hearing what I and my Sinn Féin colleagues have been telling him for months now, or indeed for years in the case of some of us.

Their question to the Taoiseach is as follows. Since 2013, homeowners in Mayo have been campaigning to deliver a fit-for-purpose scheme that would deliver 100% financial redress and 100% support to enable homeowners to rebuild their homes. Does the Taoiseach commit to putting forward the necessary changes to deliver a resolution to the priority issues in the document that I have now given to him? Does the Taoiseach see the issue that his housing Minister is failing to see? Otherwise, as Gina, one of the homeowners, rightly asked last night, what are we meant to do?

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