Danny Healy-Rae (Kerry, Independent)

I am glad of the opportunity to contribute to this debate as well, as I have many times in the past. I cannot understand how this is going on for so long but I heard the Minister of State say the different things that hold it up. I hope it is full belt ahead to ensure the people of Donegal, Mayo, Clare and any other affected area get the redress scheme and their homes back in order, as they rightfully should have. It is great to see everyone uniting from Donegal, Mayo and Clare. A lot of time has been given to these debates.

I cannot visualise what went wrong in the first place. We have concrete blocks in Kerry. Mike Jack Cronin has been making them for years and the Casey brothers have been delivering from Rathmore for years. There was not a word about anything wrong with concrete blocks. I cannot understand what went wrong. Was it the cement? Was it the stone? What went wrong in the making of them and how is it so widespread? A load of concrete can go wrong somewhere if something causes it but tonnes and tonnes of concrete went into these blocks and they all finished up in a mess. It took a bit of time before they fell apart. Was it done deliberately or what happened? We need to be told that. What was the cause of the bloody thing in the first place?

People have lost their homes and have been out of their homes for many years. We do not hear of anyone being chastised or brought before a court or anything as a result of what happened.

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