Martin Kenny (Sligo-Leitrim, Sinn Fein)
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As the Minister of State is aware, County Sligo is one of the few counties in the western seaboard that has been left out of the defective concrete blocks grant scheme. Counties Mayo, Donegal and Clare are in the scheme. Over the decades, many people in west County Sligo bought their aggregate and concrete blocks from County Mayo. We know there was a particular quarry in County Mayo that had this difficulty and pyrite has been found in many of these houses.

The Sligo Pyrite Action Group has been campaigning for three years to try to get this sorted out but is making very little progress, to be honest. Its members feel very frustrated and annoyed about it. They attended a meeting of Sligo County Council in early December when they put their case very strongly that the county council needs to get this resolved. It held a small protest outside. They feel very let down that other counties have been taken into the scheme while they have been left behind.

We estimate that more than 200 private houses in County Sligo have this difficulty. There may be even more than this number of local authority houses. Over the past decade, a number of local authority houses in County Sligo have had to be demolished and rebuilt because they had pyrite. This was done quietly behind the scenes and nothing was said about it. There are possibly many hundreds more local authority houses in the same position.

We know the concrete block scheme in place at present is not perfect and there are issues with it. There are difficulties that many of the campaigners have with how the scheme has been set out. At the same time, people in County Sligo whose houses are affected in this way need to get into the scheme and get started. One of the first things they will have to do before they can get any work done is to have the concrete blocks in the houses tested. This can take some time. Most of these people live in west Sligo and they look across the border to County Mayo. They go down to Ballina and see houses being demolished and rebuilt but nothing has been done with their houses.

In the past 12 months, an engineer, John Garrett, was appointed by Sligo County Council. He did a sample test on five houses. The normal symptom is small hairline cracks on the wall which are examined. All five houses he tested proved positive for pyrite. There are hundreds more houses in a similar situation. The only way we can get this resolved is to move forward with it. Unfortunately, to date the Government, the Department and the Housing Agency have said we have to wait until it is checked and that there is no evidence of it. I understand these checks have been done. I corresponded with the Minister, Deputy O'Brien, at the end of November. I received a letter from him on 2 December in which he told me the Housing Agency had appointed a chartered engineer that had met Sligo County Council in September and its investigations and calculations were complete. At that stage, it had the report in draft and it was expected to be completed by January 2024. It is now January 2024. We need to see this move forward at pace. We know there are serious difficulties for many people who are very worried and concerned about this.

I spoke to Councillor Thomas Healy, a colleague of mine on Sligo County Council, who chairs one of these groups. He told me there are two houses where people have been told by the engineers that they need to move out. One of these is a woman, who is now renting a house down the road from her own house, on which she is still paying a mortgage. She drives past it every day. She cannot get into the scheme. Clearly there is a problem that needs to be resolved at pace.

I ask the Minister of State come back with a solution and let me know very quickly that the houses in County Sligo will be part of the scheme and they can get the concrete blocks tested and move forward with this as soon as possible. Unfortunately, there may be many more affected houses out there. There are also a number of apartments that are not part of the scheme either which will be affected by this. There are many other areas, such as commercial premises, that are in a similar situation and people are very worried and concerned. The first part of this is to get private residences into the scheme as quickly as possible.

Martin Kenny (Sligo-Leitrim, Sinn Fein)
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I thank the Minister of State. First, we have learned nothing new. We are aware that this has happened and that on 26 September, Sligo County Council engaged with the Housing Agency and commenced its investigations. According to the last letter I got in early December, the report was in draft form. We now need to see the report being brought forward. I am concerned about the use of the words "if appropriate". It is clear to everyone it is appropriate, because if the aggregate came from the same quarry in Mayo as the houses that are now being demolished and having to be rebuilt, clearly it is appropriate that the people who, unfortunately, bought their materials from that quarry will be in the same situation and will need to be part of a scheme.

I am also concerned about the reference in the reply to include "the whole, or part," of the county council area, which suggests that somehow or other there will be a further subdivision of a county, in addition to the areas where it is already in place. It is a reality that in a catchment area, people buy their building materials wherever they can get them, usually wherever they get them at a good price and get them delivered. They do not look to the county that they buy them in as they do not see a problem down the road. Putting a hurdle up in front of them is simply wrong and should not happen.

I am also conscious that when this does happen, which I hope is very soon, the local authority will have to play a role in it and it will need to have staff in place to apply the scheme. At the moment it does not have anyone in place to work in this particular area. That is another aspect of this issue that needs to be examined.

I am also aware of the need for enhanced scrutiny of building materials throughout the country. I know we have various agencies that are supposed to be doing that work but difficulties have arisen and some people point out that difficulties still arise and problems might emerge in the future. The Government must get a grip on the regulation of materials that go into people's homes, which are a very long-term investment. It must ensure a system is put in place to hold to account those who abuse the system. That has happened and this is clear evidence of it. I want an absolute assurance from the Minister of State that all of County Sligo will be included in this scheme immediately.