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

How much more do homeowners impacted by the defective blocks in Mayo and other counties have to endure, whether they have partially completed their rebuilds or whether they are trying to get into the scheme? At every age homeowners are given assurances that they would not be disadvantaged by the timing that they entered the schemes. Now homeowners, who are in the middle of rebuilding their homes and lives, have been told that they have to wait for legislation to be prepared and passed to enable them to avail of the higher rates. It is utterly disgraceful that these homeowners are being treated like this. It is clear that the scheme is not fit for purpose and in many cases only provides for 70% or less of the costs of remediation. Too many of the impacted homeowners are locked out of the scheme because of affordability. If there is to be any fairness in this whole scandal, the Government must provide retrospective redress, must end the damaged threshold being used as a barrier to the scheme and must amend the scheme to allow impacted homeowners to access upfront payments to commence remediation works. The Government must allow the flexibility and timelines from start to completion. It must make the increase in the cap for the defective blocks scheme to be opened to all affected homeowners, not just the new entrants. It must ensure that those responsible for the manufacturing of defective blocks are held to account, that a full public inquiry is held into the defective material and how it was sold into the housing markets and that the industry must contribute to the overall cost of the remediating of defective properties. Where is the scheme for the council houses and approved housing bodies, AHBs? Many questions need to be urgently answered regarding this scheme.

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