Pearse Doherty (Donegal, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

Gabhaim buíochas leis an Leas-Cheann Comhairle. Is mian liom fosta fáilte a chur roimh an Dáil to the First Minister, Michelle O’Neill, and our MPs from the North who were elected to represent to represent their constituencies. I look forward to the day when they can rightfully take their seats in this House in a new and united Ireland. In between, I encourage the Government to revisit the commitment given by former Taoiseach, Mr. Bertie Ahern, in terms of providing speaking rights to those elected from the North.

Tá teaghlaigh ó thaobh na mblocanna lochtacha ag fulaingt. Dheimhnigh an comhfhreagras a d’fhoilsigh The Ditch idir an tArd-Aighne agus an tAire tithíochta an méid seo. Bhí a fhios againne go raibh an Rialtas ag iarraidh cúlú a chur ar an méid daoine a bheadh ábalta tacaíocht a fháil agus nach mbeadh 100% cúiteamh ar fáil. The homeowners involved in the defective concrete block scandal have continued to struggle with the failing redress scheme announced by this Government since 2021. The scheme failed to provide 100% redress as homeowners and their families faced financial stress and mental anguish while they watched their homes crumble right around them. Children are forced sleep in bedrooms with crumbling walls, families are forced to live in unsafe conditions and homeowners are facing massive shortfalls to rebuild their homes and their lives.

Correspondence released by The Ditch between the Attorney General and the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage from September 2021 reveals what Sinn Féin and the campaigners suspected from the very beginning, which is that there was a concerted effort at the very heart of Government to block and limit financial support for those homeowners as their homes and lives crumbled right before their very eyes. The contents of the Attorney General's letter to the Minister for housing are shocking in the unwavering focus on ways to reduce the number of applicants to the redress scheme. He talked about how any improvements would likely increase the number of applicants to the scheme. There was an insinuation that affected homeowners would, in the Attorney General's words, "pitch his/her claim on the most generous basis that can be credibly advanced", rather than recognising that these are victims of a crisis in which they are facing financial ruin and hardship and who only ever wanted fairness, justice and a safe home for themselves and their children. The Attorney General in his correspondence calls into question the competence of certified engineers, questioning their expertise and even claiming that they would be susceptible to pressure from homeowners and would recommend anything other than what was right or what they would professionally recommend. He also questioned the expertise of local authority staff. The contents of this correspondence are shocking, with the Attorney General providing not just legal advice but policy advice on an issue that has destroyed so many lives.

The Government accepted much of the advice, which limited financial support to so many homeowners. The disastrous consequences of this decision are only too well known by the victims of this scandal. Only 61 properties have been fully remediated to date, and that includes under the old scheme that was announced in 2018. The failures of the Government in responding to the defect scandal are not surprising. The owners of nearly 16,000 apartments with emergency fire safety defects have yet to receive State funding despite the scheme opening last year. Legislation meant to underpin a wider redress scheme for people with Celtic tiger era defects has still not been published despite commitments that it would be published last September.

This Government has failed homeowners affected by the defective concrete blocks scandal. The financial distress, but also the mental anguish they face each and every day, is proof of that failure. The Attorney General said in his advice that it was important to urgently engage with local solicitors to pursue the wrongdoers. In his advice, he mentioned quarries and block manufacturers. He said there was considerable urgency with this. He went on to name Cassidy's quarry in County Donegal and he made it clear that a company going into liquidation could still be pursued and a claim made against it or its insurers. Therefore, on behalf of 7,000 affected owners of homes that have concrete defects, I ask the Tánaiste very simply why he accepted the Attorney General's advice when it comes to limiting their ability to access this but ignored the Attorney General's advice when he told the Government to urgently pursue the wrongdoers and named some of those companies that were the wrongdoers. The Government has done nothing about that since.

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