Charlie McConalogue (Donegal, Fianna Fail)
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16. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, Community and Local Government the status of the work of the expert panel set up to examine the mica issue; when the panel will report its findings to his Department; if he has a timeline for a decision on putting a redress scheme in place to provide financial assistance to affected home owners following on from the panel's report; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [28425/16]

Thomas Pringle (Donegal, Independent)
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43. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, Community and Local Government when the independent panel on mica is due to report its findings; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [28644/16]

Charlie McConalogue (Donegal, Fianna Fail)
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This is to ask the Minister of State for an update on the work of the mica panel established to examine the extent of the problem in terms of mica affected blocks which are leading to many homes having cracks in walls and other severe structural problems. What progress has the panel made so far? What is the deadline in terms of when it should report? I ask also for an update on the Government's plans for a redress scheme to assist home owners fix their homes following on from that report.

I thank the Minister of State for travelling to Donegal and meeting with affected home owners since I last raised this issue before the Dáil recess. The Minister of State committed to doing that in the Dáil and took the time to do that. He met many home owners and saw for himself the impact this problem is having and how damaging it is in terms of the houses affected and the lives of the families who live in them.

The Government has dragged its feet on this issue over the course of the past two to three years. Initially, it dragged its feet in terms of committing to setting up the expert panel to assess the problem and report on it. The panel, since it was set up, has also dragged its feet in terms of the report deadline. When it was set up initially, the deadline was 31 May. It was then pushed back to the end of October, and I believe now it has been pushed out to the end of this year.

Jim Daly (Cork South West, Fine Gael)
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Thank you, Deputy. I will call you again.

Charlie McConalogue (Donegal, Fianna Fail)
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That is not acceptable, and I would like an update from the Minister of State on that.

Damien English (Meath West, Fine Gael)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 16 and 43 together.

The expert panel on concrete blocks has met on four occasions since it was established in April 2016 and is continuing to receive and review the information that has been made available to it on the problems that have emerged in affected homes in Donegal and Mayo. The accusation made by Deputy McConalogue that it is dragging its feet is unfair. It was set up in April. The members of the panel were in Donegal in May. I was there in July. The expert panel members were in Mayo in September. An offer was made to meet Oireachtas Members in July, although not everyone could turn up. Two out of seven Members turned up. The Minister of State, Deputy Joe McHugh, was asked to meet the panel again. That will happen next week. The members of the panel are doing the best they possibly can. It is a major issue and the problems must be analysed properly. It is unfair to accuse them of dragging their feet when they made themselves available as quickly as possible.

A substantial volume of information has been provided by affected home owners in both counties, as well as by Donegal and Mayo county councils, which will be of particular assistance in completing the necessary research to inform the preparation of the panel’s report.

Further meetings have taken place with key stakeholders including affected home owners, the elected members of Donegal and Mayo county councils, whom I have met also, local authority officials, and industry bodies. Additional meetings are anticipated with other stakeholders over the months ahead before the panel concludes its research into the problems that have emerged in the affected homes.

Ultimately, the aim of the panel’s terms of reference is to establish the facts behind the problems that have emerged in Donegal and Mayo and to outline technical options for addressing the problems identified to assist affected home owners.

It is anticipated that the panel will complete its report before the end of the year. I would have liked to have had it done by October or November. It might take a little longer, but in my view, and I have said this on many occasions when I met the home owners in their homes, we have to get it right, and the home owners agree with that approach. They did not ask me to rush it. They asked me to get right and to make sure the panel does the work properly. That is what it is doing. It is a strong panel which is doing good work. It is anticipated that it will complete its report before the end of the year. The Minister, Deputy Coveney, I and the Department will await the outcome of the report. We will have the report first and then we will analyse how we should proceed, but it is important, and I have had this conversation with other Deputies, that the panel members are given the space and the resources to do their work. Most of the groups the panel wanted to meet have met it. Some declined, but it managed to meet most of the stakeholders involved in this, and it is hoped it will be able to recommend solutions.

Charlie McConalogue (Donegal, Fianna Fail)
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I thank the Minister of State for his reply. He will know, having met the families, that this is an urgent matter for those affected by it because houses continue to deteriorate as time moves on, and the cost of having tests conducted on individual houses is prohibitive, being in the range of €2,000 to €3,000. Families are waiting for these tests to be conducted by the panel. They are waiting on the expert opinion of the panel as to the nature and extent of the problem and the remedies that can be brought to bear. Following on from that, they also await the Government's response on what help will be available because these families will need help to address the problems in their homes.

I said the Government has dragged its feet on this issue because it took too long to set up the expert panel. However, when it was set up, the report deadline given was 31 May. That was then pushed out to the end of October. In a reply to a parliamentary question from me last week and again today, it was pushed out to the end of this year. It could be done more quickly than that. It is possible to have it delivered more quickly, and I ask the Minister of State to engage with the members of the panel and ensure it is delivered by the end of the year. The Minister of State might also update us on the number of staff from the Department working with the panel as a secretariat.

Jim Daly (Cork South West, Fine Gael)
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I ask the Deputy to adhere to the clock, please.

Charlie McConalogue (Donegal, Fianna Fail)
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The Minister of State might address also the point as to the Government's position on the supports that will be available to families to repair their homes following on from the report.

Damien English (Meath West, Fine Gael)
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In terms of my meetings, I met the Mica Action Group in Donegal as well as the home owners in Mayo. They made it clear to me that they understood the importance of the expert panel doing its work correctly and producing a report we can use that outlines the causes and possible remedies for this problem. I cannot stress that enough. I do not know what information the Deputy has in terms of the expert panel doing its work more quickly. I do not want the panel to do the work more quickly if it is not done right. I want to have the report as quickly as possible in order that we can analyse it and decide what to do with it, but I would not ask someone not to do their job correctly. The Deputy might know of some scientific reason it can do it more quickly. I am not aware of it, but it was set up in April.

Charlie McConalogue (Donegal, Fianna Fail)
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It is in the terms of reference given to the committee.

Jim Daly (Cork South West, Fine Gael)
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The Minister of State has the floor.

Damien English (Meath West, Fine Gael)
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It was in Donegal in May. The panel members have had numerous meetings all summer. They are meeting again on 17 October. I believe they are doing their work. We have asked them about it. They have the resources to do the work as quickly as possible, but many home owners want to meet them. They visited the home owners in their houses in both Donegal and Mayo. They met local authority members and Oireachtas Members. The offer is there if the Deputy wants to meet them. They are doing their job right. When we get the report, we will analyse it and determine the best way to remedy the problem. Most people say they want a solution to the problems with their houses. To be clear, this was an issue from 1999 to 2008. It predates our Government, but we are trying to bring forward solutions to the problems.

Charlie McConalogue (Donegal, Fianna Fail)
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In pointing out the dates to the Minister of State I am simply pointing out the terms of reference given to the committee by his predecessor, the former Deputy Paudie Coffey, at the outset. That was on 31 May. Obviously, the assessment made by the Minister of State's Department was that it was achievable to have the report dealt with in that time. I am not picking these figures out of the air. The Minister of State's Department set the deadline of 31 May. It then pushed that out to the end of October, and it has now it pushed out further to the end of December. As the Minister of State will understand, this is a source of great stress for families.

It is achievable to have the report dealt with in the period provided but I ask the Minister of State and his good offices to ensure that every support is given to the panel to have the work completed by the end of the year. Following on from that, it will be about the level of support the Minister of State's Department can provide to the families who cannot afford to fix these houses. Some of them cannot be fixed, but the panel will recommend what is possible in that regard. I ask the Minister of State to address the point about the support he will be in a position to offer following the report.

Jim Daly (Cork South West, Fine Gael)
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We have the Deputy's point.

Damien English (Meath West, Fine Gael)
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The people the Deputy represents recognise that we have to wait for the report before we can come up with the best way forward. There was a process to be followed. I have seen the process in action in other situations and it has worked quite well. When I engage with people directly, they understand and are clear on what has to happen. I am not sure what the Deputy's difficulty is with that, but I have to wait until I get the report before we can do anything further. The Deputy is right that initially we had hoped to have a report in May, but the panel only came together in April. It was clear then that we would not have a report in May. I am sure the Deputy would accept that. No one expects magic. We have to give the panel enough time to do its work.

From the submissions and other details that have been received and the reports on people's homes, the panel members have gathered a good deal of data on many houses. There are more than 300 members of the Mica Action Group. Quite a number of houses are affected in Mayo as well.

Moreover, 450 local authority houses potentially are affected. Many houses are involved in this regard and we have a lot of information. As more information probably has come into the expert panel than it originally envisaged, the panel has asked for a little more time with the report. I accept that and will work with it but it is not being kicked out until next year or two or three years' time. It will be an additional couple of months, which is all right from my perspective if it leads to the proper analysis of the problem and the possible solutions.