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

I wish the Minister nothing but the best in the years to come because what is ahead is the biggest crisis this country has ever seen when it comes to housing. When reading the Housing Commission report, I was shocked to find no mention of the defective concrete block crisis. The thousands of houses that have been impacted by this crisis are not mentioned once in the 250-page report. It is an absolute disgrace. Whether an oversight or an intentional omission, it is equally concerning. The Housing Commission claims to have studied the challenges of the housing system in detail but this could not be further from the truth. The commission chose to omit thousands of houses in this country that have been affected by defective concrete blocks. The crisis has been continuously ignored by the Government and State bodies but there is no way we will be able to tackle the housing crisis in Ireland without tackling the defective block crisis. There are more than 20,000 homes throughout the country currently affected. There are two crises in the one hand and one impacts the other. The only mention of this comes on page 183, when the Commission states the following:

While adherence to building regulations has improved since the introduction of the Building Control (Amendment) Regulation 2014, the opt-out facility for single dwellings, as introduced by S.I. No. 365 of 2015, has been described as a ‘retrograde step’ and could lead to repeat building failures.

The report refers to the expert panel on concrete blocks yet fails to explain the context of the reference or mention the defective block crisis at all.

This is an insult to people who are affected by defective concrete blocks. For almost ten years, impacted homeowner groups have been calling for the removal of this opt-out facility. I know for a fact that defective blocks have been used in houses in Donegal since the publication of the report in 2017. This is despite the recommendations in the report and the constant ignoring of impacted homeowners' practical solutions to end this. We in the 100% Redress Party have made ourselves available to work with the Government and offer solutions that will work. The Government needs to take proactive steps to address the ongoing crisis and prevent it from ever happening again. We must establish an independent market surveillance mechanism that will protect homeowners and the construction industry. This is something that has not been addressed. The Housing Commission's report should have been an opportunity to address this country's building failures and its weak building regulations. Instead, we had a Dublin-focused housing report that attempted to sweep the defective concrete crisis under the carpet and ignored thousands of impacted homeowners in Donegal, the west and all other counties throughout the country that are affected. We need help and we need it now.

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