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

It is shocking to see the examples of overspending and waste in the public sector, as outlined in the motion. Public trust in Government decisions and Government spending is at an all-time low. It is sickening for people to watch the Government spend public money so wastefully. It is a slap in the face to families impacted by the defective concrete crisis that hundreds of thousands is being dished out on bike sheds, security huts and printers - you name it.

I will highlight the staggering waste, inefficiency and fiscal irresponsibility of this Government's handling of the defective concrete crisis, not to mention that the very creation of the crisis in the first place is due to its complete failure to provide proper oversight. Thousands of families in County Donegal and beyond are affected. Twenty counties are currently affected by defective concrete. People are trapped in their homes. Public money is squandered on projects to serve the optics over the people. Despite overwhelming scientific evidence that iron sulphites, not mica, are causing homes to collapse, the Government persists in offering remediation when only full demolition will do. Even last week, families were subject to remediation offers that were half-measures ensuring future failures at taxpayers' expense. This is just a waste of public money. It is scandalous.

Micheál Martin spoke yesterday about the generous redress scheme. While the scheme could be worth €50 billion on paper, it is still meaningless when institutional barriers will prevent thousands of homeowners from ever getting on the scheme. There is no scrutiny and the hypocrisy is staggering. How did we get here? Nothing has changed in respect of defective concrete in the 14 years since this started. No meaningful market surveillance exists. No independent oversight is being conducted. Defective materials continue to reach the market and these counties continue to be affected. This scheme will again fail homeowners who have poured their life savings into rebuilding their homes because it does not cover foundations. It is scandalous. The scheme is riddled with waste. Homeowners are buried in bureaucracy and are required to document every single cent while the Government spends €490,000 replacing a 70 m wall outside a Dublin office, which is great work if you can get it.

It is clear that the Government prioritises optics over ordinary people and political projects over real human suffering. How can this Government justify unchecked spending on vanity projects while people in Donegal and the other counties are fighting to rebuild their lives? There is no doubt that there is a stark contrast between Dublin and Donegal in how public funds are allocated. At every level, the Government operates under a double standard. A teacher in this country can barely order a pencil without navigating an exhaustive procurement process, yet when it comes to hundreds of millions of taxpayers' money, there is absolutely no oversight, accountability or scrutiny. Homeowners who are also taxpayers are being held to an impossible standard, yet there is waste and mismanagement of money at the highest level of government which continues to go unchecked.

Enough is enough. The people of Donegal and affected counties deserve a full redress scheme. They deserve a Government that values family over facades, and emphasises fairness and fiscal responsibility. They deserve accountability. This is not just a housing crisis; it is now a moral crisis. Until there is accountability at the highest level, the cycle of waste will continue for years and years to come. It is time for the Government to bridge the divide. There needs to be a more equal approach to funding. We must start with those who need help the most. That includes the families affected by defective concrete.

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