Keira Keogh (Mayo, Fine Gael)

Today, I have constituents who feel unheard, unseen and left in limbo. I want to acknowledge that progress has been made. The Government has taken steps in recognising the scale of the housing defects crisis by the establishment of the enhanced defective concrete blocks scheme and by announcements of increased caps offering choices between non-demolition, remediation or a full technical review.

These are not small victories. They are hard-won milestones but today I speak on behalf of my constituents in Pairc na Coille in Westport, across Belmullet and all across Mayo. Today, I speak for the homeowners who are anxiously awaiting legislation on retrospective payments. These constituents are under huge pressure to sign off on their houses and to leave the scheme. I speak for my constituent who had to dig down 4.8 m, just to find solid foundations. They are now facing the uncertainty as to whether these excess costs such as stilts, removal of soil and rubble and increased engineers fees will be covered. I speak for my constituent with terminal cancer who lies awake at night, wondering if her children will be entitled to the scheme if the unimaginable comes to pass.

I speak for families living in unsafe houses who want to knock and rebuild but in this housing crisis, they have nowhere to go. They are trapped between danger and displacement. I speak for those who bought their homes in good faith, only to discover pyrite years later. They have had to jump through hoop after hoop to prove they did not know. These victims must defend their innocence. I speak for those who have developed ticks, tremors and traumas from the stress of living in defective homes. For them, sparse free counselling is not enough. Their mental health deserves more than a token gesture. It deserves real, sustained support.

While we make policies in offices, its impact is felt in kitchens, bedrooms and back gardens all across the country. We must deliver the legislation that is needed urgently. We must carry out the full review urgently. We must expand the scheme urgently because behind every cracked wall is a broken heart and behind every delayed payment is a family holding on by a thread.

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