Pat Gallagher (Donegal, Fianna Fail)

I am pleased to have the opportunity to participate in the debate. I will refer to some of the positives in the amendment to the defective blocks legislation. For example, it is an opportunity for retrospective payments to be made to homeowners who previously hit the scheme cap. This is the extra 10% in most cases. I agree with many of the contributors that the date of 29 March 2024 is very much arbitrary and I request the Minister to look at it. If it were to be changed, it would not be that much more costly. Not too many houses are affected but each and every one is important. I ask the Minister to have a look at this between now and Committee Stage.

Recently I took the opportunity to visit all of the schemes in Letterkenny that are affected. It reminded me of a visit to New Orleans for St. Patrick's Day in 2006. I toured the city and saw the devastation there. The only difference was that after Hurricane Katrina the houses were not left standing. Those houses were totally demolished whereas in Donegal the houses are not demolished but they are crumbling. Through time, unless something is done, many of these houses will be somewhat similar to what I saw in the United States many years ago. When I left there I remember saying to those who accompanied me that it was not about bricks and mortar; it was much more than that. It was much more profound as it affected families, relationships, homeowners, mental and physical health and well-being. We do not know what happens in houses when families go inside the door but I have no doubt this issue is affecting family relationships and children. I know of a number of individuals who wanted to send their children to college but the children said to their parents that they could not afford to do so and that they would take time out to work. This is the effect it is having on all of these families in Donegal.

I welcome the new provisions to support homeowners who exceeded the former scheme limit and have incurred qualifying expenditure since 29 March 2024. I ask the Minister to have a look at this rather than having it as an arbitrary date.

Issuing homeowners with a non-demolition option, which, in plain language, is with regard to the outer leaf, makes no sense. The concrete blocks in the outer leaf being affected, while the blocks in the inner leaf were not, does not make sense. Most of these people are now awaiting the amendment to SI 465. After my visit to parts of Donegal last week, I took the opportunity to write to the chief executive of the NSAI to ask when the new SI 465 is scheduled to be published. I also asked whether there was a draft or a summary. Of course, I got a reply this afternoon to say it was still working through the hundreds of proposals it has, and that it would be sometime next year I heard the Minister say earlier, which I welcome, that it will be available in the first quarter of 2026, and I hope it is sooner rather than later. The scheme would not make sense for most of those approved for the outer leaf because in years to come they will be back again. Not only would they then have to replace the outer leaf to get into the inner leaf, but it would cause substantial costs for them.

I welcome the recommendation regarding side by side. Many families whose houses were adapted to accommodate adults or children with special needs had to put specialised equipment into them. It made sense to build side by side and I am pleased the Minister will bring forward amendments on Committee Stage to accommodate those same people. The 65 weeks to complete remediation works from the date of commencement never made much sense, as well as the requirement to apply 12 weeks in advance for an extension. Now, that has gone to 130 weeks. The big problem in my county, as I am sure it is elsewhere, is that it is impossible to get contractors to do the work. As soon as one is approved, it can take a long time because many of our people have emigrated, largely to Australia and many places. We should be trying to attract those people back to participate in the development of these houses that will be knocked and rebuilt.

I want to take this opportunity to compliment the staff of Donegal County Council who are administrating this scheme. They are on the front line and are snowed under. I am also pleased funding is being provided to employ additional staff. I hope that can happen sooner rather than later to ensure the process is as streamlined as possible between the Department and Donegal County Council, with a view to getting families the additional other retrospective payment as soon as possible.

Others referred to the buildings not included in this scheme. It is heartbreaking to meet people who are in apartments who are not covered. There are also several schools in the county that are affected. There are community centres, farm buildings and local authority houses affected. I understand there are about 2,000 local authority houses affected in Donegal and they are not in the scheme. Those are all the additionals. Whether this happens next week or before Christmas, including local authority houses has to be considered. Of course, there are also childcare facilities, and mention was made of the delay in carrying out the testing. In terms of these are delays, it should not take eight or nine months to carry out tests and report back.

Furthermore, I refer to anyone wanting to buy a house under the tenant purchase scheme, which was one of the best schemes ever introduced. I was here at the time, back in 1987. Many people bought their houses at a reasonable cost but it is much different since that scheme was amended. If those houses are being purchased now, it will take a long time to have the test carried out which adds further to delays.

The Minister has guaranteed he will introduce an amendment for the side by side and there will be support across the House for that. It would assist vulnerable families who face challenges in finding suitable alternate accommodation when their homes are being remedied. Builders will have to approve compliance before homes can be occupied to ensure safer houses for families. The new process will regulate these works without proper notification while expanded enforcement powers give authorities more flexibility to resolve issues fairly. As regards the semi-detached houses, I will await welcoming all that until I have further detail - that is, with adjoining or adjacent dwellings included in remediation.

All in all, it is a step forward. We have been waiting on this for a considerable time. There are many families who, immediately when they read the press release which was issued by the Minister, will say, "We are not included in that."

Those people have to be included. It is no fault of their own that they have purchased defective concrete blocks, and all of that has to be taken into consideration. I welcome the fact it is the Minister's intention to have the legislation through the House before Christmas because people have waited long enough. It is incumbent on us to ensure that the Bill goes through the House as quickly as possible. While I welcome some aspects of the Bill, I still have reservations about all of the other types of buildings that are not included and must be included, because this is not going to go away. I repeat my concern for all those families who are suffering mental and physical health issues as a result of the situation they have found themselves in, which is not of their doing.

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