Rose Conway-Walsh (Mayo, Sinn Fein)

I ask the Tánaiste to think about this amendment because we in Sinn Féin are trying to find practical solutions. I have been trying to find practical solutions to this situation with pyrite and defective concrete blocks for over a decade. We keep presenting solutions to Government that are not accepted, so I ask the Tánaiste to look at this amendment. It makes sense. It is time-limited. There are homeowners who are in a position to rebuild their homes but they do not have alternative accommodation. This is particularly the case in coastal areas like Mayo, Donegal and Sligo. There is a high number of short-term rentals in these areas that could be used were we to incentivise the landlords to let out the homes. It is a time-limited situation, lasting for however long it takes to rebuild the homes.

People from Mayo gathered outside the Dáil yesterday. I am not sure if the Tánaiste met any of them. I know one mother and her children. The Tánaiste will hear the story about how the cracks in the wall are so wide that rats and mice are coming through the wall and the family has had to vacate the home urgently. There are families in dire humanitarian situations. This is a tiny thing that needs to be done. I ask the Tánaiste not to continue turning his back.

We have been a 100% redress party from the beginning. We fought to put the first place in place and when it was introduced, we sat down with the action group in Mayo and worked out over 20 things that could be done to that scheme that would have alleviated a lot of the problems we have spoken about since and would have given people 100% redress to allow them to rebuild their homes and lives. I remind the Tánaiste that many families have one, two or three children with disabilities. They are trying to manage all of this. I have seen the mental and physical health of the homeowners deteriorate over the years. In his new role as Minister for Finance, I ask the Tánaiste to take this in hand. We are continuously presenting the Government with the solutions about how to deal with the defective concrete blocks scandal. We have to remember that this was avoidable in the first place. It should never have happened. We need a full public inquiry into what went on here. When we have one, the Tánaiste will see that it could and should have been avoided. There are things that can be done now. I ask the Tánaiste, in his role as Minister for Finance, to focus on the solutions that have been presented to him and, once and for all, let these families get on with rebuilding their homes and lives that have been destroyed through no fault of their own.

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