Charles Ward (Donegal, 100% Redress Party) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Labour Party for bringing forward this motion on housing, which I will support. I am disappointed, however, that there is no mention of homes affected by defective concrete. Once again, County Donegal is forgotten. The defective concrete crisis affects thousands of people throughout this island. It is a crisis that will continue to get worse, and we do not yet even know the full extent of it. Many more homes across more counties will discover in the years to come that they too are impacted.

Many of the Government's solutions are not only temporary but doomed to fail, costing the Exchequer a second time while failing to address the root causes of the problem. What is more concerning is that the failure to enforce regulations means there is no guarantee a rebuilt home will be free of defective concrete, leaving homeowners vulnerable to enduring this trauma again in future. This crisis demands accountability, transparency and immediate action by the Government.

I am here today because the landscape and the very fabric of society in Donegal have been destroyed by the failure of Governments to implement a proper redress scheme. The current scheme lacks cohesive and standardised assessments. Homes are being treated on an individual basis, leading to inconsistent remediation options that are not fit for purpose, building on top of Weetabix blocks and knowing we will be revisiting this in the future. The current practice of demolishing and rebuilding a semi-detached home while the neighbour whose house is attached to that home remains there for years until they can afford to get onto the scheme is doomed to fail. This is the catastrophe that is going on in Donegal. It is an absolute joke. The normalisation of demolishing a semi-detached house while leaving the neighbouring house standing is unacceptable. I raised this previously and was told it was a one-off, an unfortunate incident. Unfortunate incidents are happening now in Donegal every week and every day.

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