Mary Lou McDonald (Dublin Central, Sinn Fein)
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The budget the Minister's Government announces in two weeks' time must be about ending the rip-off, getting costs under control and supporting workers and families. Households struggle just to make ends meet, hammered by soaring prices at every turn. Yesterday, Kantar reported that grocery prices have shot up again in the last 12 weeks. Of course, people did not need a research report to tell them that; they feel it every time they go to the supermarket. Under Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael, living costs have become unaffordable and people cannot believe their ears when they hear the Government dig in and insist it will not take action to tackle the crisis. Last week, we were in here raising the fact that three energy companies had announced big electricity price hikes to kick in from early next month. Since then, a fourth company, SSE Airtricity, has announced that it, too, will increase its electricity prices from October. Hundreds of thousands of households will be forced to pay out even more for their electricity. Some 300,000 households, remember, are already unable to afford their electricity bills and these are working people who just cannot keep up. Yet, the Government waltzes in to withdraw energy credits when they will be so desperately needed. I suppose we should not be shocked by yet another out-of-touch decision.

The public expenditure Minister, the Minister's colleague, Deputy Jack Chambers, said at the weekend that the Government is conscious not to increase costs for people but this is the same Government that has chosen to hike up the prices of petrol and diesel, home-heating oil, rent and student fees. The Minister, Deputy Chambers, also stressed that he will, as he put it, have a "return to normal budgeting" but there is nothing normal at all about the way households are being fleeced. There is nothing normal about the severity of these electricity price hikes. Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael allowed this energy rip-off to happen. At no point have they stood up to the big companies, which get away with gouging customers because, frankly, the Government is a soft touch when it comes to them. Not alone has the Government sat on its hands and done nothing but it has pushed back against our proposals to reform the energy market and get costs under control. The consequence of the Government's inaction is that households are left to wonder how much more they will have to pay out just to keep the lights on.

The Minister cannot wash his hands of his failure to tackle these runaway energy prices and then waltz in and cut the supports on which so many households depend. Níl daoine in ann glacadh leis na harduithe seo ar phraghas an leictreachais. Ní chóir don Rialtas an socar funnimh ar a bhfuil líon mór teaghlach ag brath a tharraingt siar. We have had Minister after Minister telling people that they understand the pressure that households are under. The Taoiseach, the Tánaiste and the Minister for Finance all say that they get it. They say that talk is cheap but Government talk and hot air is proving very expensive for workers and families. Lip service will not put manners on these companies, reduce energy bills or ease any of the pressure people are under. What we need is action. I invite the Minister today to tell households that he will protect them from these energy price hikes. I want him to tell them that there will be provision for energy credits in the forthcoming budget.

Deputies:

Hear, hear.

Jim O'Callaghan (Dublin Bay South, Fianna Fail)
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I thank Deputy McDonald for the question. At the outset, can I say that she does not have a monopoly on empathy or compassion for householders-----

Louise O'Reilly (Dublin Fingal West, Sinn Fein)
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Nobody is suggesting that we do.

Jim O'Callaghan (Dublin Bay South, Fianna Fail)
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-----when it comes to addressing the difficult circumstances that members of the public find themselves in as a result of cost-of-living pressures? It is important to point out that this Government has done a huge amount in respect of those cost-of-living pressures. By looking at what was done in budget 2025, the Deputy is invoking those measures today as a means of assisting people. She was not so supportive of those measures when we announced them 12 months ago-----

Deputies:

Hear, hear.

Jim O'Callaghan (Dublin Bay South, Fianna Fail)
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-----and indeed 24 months ago. In budget 2025, a wide range of measures were introduced which had the effect of protecting members of the public from the excessive costs that were arising as a result of inflation. We introduced an increased payment in respect of the rent tax credit; it went up from €1,000 to €2,000. There was the extension of the 9% reduced VAT rate for gas and electricity. That very real measure was introduced for the purpose of ensuring we reduced the cost of energy for householders. We also saw the extension of mortgage interest relief until the end of 2025 and the €300 lump sum payment in respect of the fuel allowance. That is not even getting to the double-month child benefit payment.

The Deputy is correct in stating that there were two €125 electricity credits for households. They were very effective at a time when there were very high energy prices and inflation was out of control. Fortunately, we are now in a position where inflation has come down. Let us be clear that this Government will continue to introduce measures in respect of the forthcoming budget that will have hard-pressed families at the centre of them. My colleagues, Jack Chambers and Paschal Donohoe, will have that at the forefront of their considerations when it comes to the measures contained within the budget.

The Deputy will note that in April we decided to extend the VAT reduction to 9% on gas and electricity, a measure that will save households €70 for gas and €55 for electricity. This decision was further supported by the announcement made in June by the Minister, Darragh O'Brien, of a 40% reduction in the renewable electricity PSO levy for 2025 and 2026. Also, from September, there will be a significant increase in the number of people who qualify for the fuel allowance.

In terms of other pressures that people are under, and other costs, at the beginning of June the carers' support grant increased to €2,000, which is its highest level ever. That benefited some 138,000 carers. Last week the income level disregard increased for the carer's allowance. This Government has therefore introduced a whole range of measures in the past. I assure the Deputy that when the Government comes to announce the budget two weeks from now there will be measures in it that will have hard-pressed families at the centre of considerations.

We also need to look at the fact that parents of schoolchildren have been given considerable support by this Government. The back-to-school clothing and footwear allowance, which is paid out over the summer months, has been extended to foster carers for the first time. Parents who have schoolgoing children at present do not have to pay for schoolbooks because of measures that were introduced by the Minister, Norma Foley-----

Jim O'Callaghan (Dublin Bay South, Fianna Fail)
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-----and brought forward by the Minister, Helen McEntee. The Deputy might not like the fact that a huge number of measures have been taken by this Government to relieve pressure on hard-pressed families. The fact of the matter is that any fair assessment of what is being done shows that this is being done by this Government.

I must say that the Deputy's concern about what is going to happen in the forthcoming budget is misplaced. I assure her that the Government will be placing hard-pressed families at the centre of its deliberations. I look forward to seeing Sinn Féin's budget proposals to see what it is putting forward. I will be interested to see if it will again adopt the measures we introduced previously and which it denigrated when we introduced them.

Mary Lou McDonald (Dublin Central, Sinn Fein)
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The Minister does not have a monopoly on being out of touch or hollow self-congratulation because his buddies in Fine Gael are right there with him.

Louise O'Reilly (Dublin Fingal West, Sinn Fein)
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Hear, hear.

Mary Lou McDonald (Dublin Central, Sinn Fein)
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It is right that inflation has tamed but costs and prices are still sky high. I have instanced four separate electricity companies that are telling us that prices are going up as early as next month. Prices are up and a record number of households cannot meet their bills. That is the reality of the situation. I will make no apology to the Minister or his friends across Fianna Fáil, Fine Gael and the Lowry crew for arguing the case for households, workers and families who are struggling in the here and now. I am simply stating that the Government should support our proposal, which it will see in our pre-budget submission, for the payment this winter of €450 in energy credits that households desperately need. If, as he says, the Minister shares an empathy and compassion and understands how badly families are struggling, he should have no difficulty confirming that the budget will contain that precise measure.

Jim O'Callaghan (Dublin Bay South, Fianna Fail)
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I am the Minister for justice. I am not the Minister for Finance or the Minister for public expenditure.

Mary Lou McDonald (Dublin Central, Sinn Fein)
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You are taking Leaders' Questions.

Jim O'Callaghan (Dublin Bay South, Fianna Fail)
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I do not announce the budget terms two weeks before the budget is announced. We will all have the opportunity to hear the budget two weeks from now when it is announced by the Ministers for Finance and public expenditure. On hard-pressed families, the Deputy has not responded to the issues I have raised about the measures we have taken in the past.

Pearse Doherty (Donegal, Sinn Fein)
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She did.

Jim O'Callaghan (Dublin Bay South, Fianna Fail)
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They cannot just be ignored.

Pearse Doherty (Donegal, Sinn Fein)
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There are record levels of electricity arrears. That is the response.

Jim O'Callaghan (Dublin Bay South, Fianna Fail)
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The Deputy cannot ignore the past.

Pearse Doherty (Donegal, Sinn Fein)
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That is the response.

Jim O'Callaghan (Dublin Bay South, Fianna Fail)
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The Deputy cannot ignore what we have done in the past and now try to claim credit for what we did previously in circumstances-----

Pearse Doherty (Donegal, Sinn Fein)
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There are record levels of electricity arrears.

Jim O'Callaghan (Dublin Bay South, Fianna Fail)
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-----when Sinn Féin did not support those measures at the time we announced them on a previous budget day. Let us consider the VAT rate on energy costs. We have retained the 9% rate. That will be dealt with on budget day and we will wait to hear what will be announced. I am not going to pre-announce the budget. What I will do, and what I assure the Deputy that the Ministers, Deputies Donohoe and Chambers will also do, is read carefully Sinn Féin's budget submission. If there are good proposals in it, they will give them consideration. If there are not, and it is just populist outrage, they will ignore them, as they should.

Ivana Bacik (Dublin Bay South, Labour)
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The families of one in five children in Ireland, which means more than 225,000 children, now live below the breadline. Ours is a relatively wealthy country and yet more than 5,000 children are homeless. Those are 5,000 children in emergency accommodation who are doing their homework on the floors of hotel rooms or family hubs. Far too many are living in overcrowded homes with multiple generations all under one roof. The Minister may not be the Minister for Finance yet, but his party has the housing portfolio and he is the TD for Dublin Bay South. Across the communities that the Minister and I represent, multiple generations and branches of family trees are crammed into one tiny space because of the housing crisis and disaster. At the hardest edge of the crisis are those children in housing insecurity, who are facing the awful prospect of eviction. The thought of that resonates with all of us. Families are in despair. Individuals are in despair.

I talked this morning with my Labour Party colleagues, who are hearing daily, as I am, from people who are becoming increasingly desperate because of the lack of housing. Increasingly, our representatives, and I am sure the Government representatives, are finding they can offer those people nothing because there is no safety net for families, or anyone else, facing eviction.

We learned today that the Minister for housing has written to councils about the tenant in situ scheme, which was the safety net that the Government introduced to keep families in their homes when landlords were choosing to sell up. In March this year, new restrictions from the Government all but eliminated the safety net for far too many people. No new acquisitions were sanctioned across Dublin city or in Cork. Under criticism from the Government's own councillors, the Minister, Deputy Browne, has now issued a letter to local authorities. We hear it states that they can now proceed with more acquisitions up to a value of 30% of their original 2025 budget.

However, those commitments are for 2026, so it seems that the Minister is borrowing into next year, kicking the can down the road and doing nothing for families whose applications under the tenant in situ scheme have already been rejected this year because central government, it seems, has turned off the tap. The numbers involved are rising.

As I have said, our representatives are dealing every day with families facing eviction and families whose applications have been turned down. We are hearing about despair, people who see no future for themselves and people who, horrifically, are even expressing suicidal thoughts because of the lack of hope in this housing disaster. Where are they to go? What are we to offer them? What is the Government to offer them? There is so much the Government could do. It has said that putting hard-pressed families at the centre of the budget will be its priority. If so, let us hear from the Minister on whether he will use the budget to restore the tenant in situ scheme to full functionality. Will he ensure local authorities prioritise housing children, as per our Labour Party Bill, which he had supported previously? Third, will he go further and act to end the eviction of children? We could do that. The Minister could do that. He could prevent evictions of children in homelessness beyond the 5,000 that have already occurred.

Jim O'Callaghan (Dublin Bay South, Fianna Fail)
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I thank Deputy Bacik for her question. Obviously, child poverty is an enormous issue in this country and an enormous one that the Government wishes to respond to. The Deputy will have heard the Taoiseach, and indeed the Tánaiste, say that child poverty will be at the centre of the budget that is forthcoming and will be announced two weeks from now. I can understand why the Deputy wishes me to give information in respect of the budget that is forthcoming in two weeks. I cannot do that. We are just going to have to wait to realise what the content is when it is announced. However, the Deputy can be sure – the Government will be adamant about this – that tackling child poverty is a central aim.

The Deputy talks about the impact the housing crisis is having on children. We are fully aware of that. The Deputy is not the only one aware of the impact it is having on children and families. Although she displays great empathy, I have not heard any practical solutions from her on how we can improve-----

Conor Sheehan (Limerick City, Labour)
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Our motion tomorrow.

Ivana Bacik (Dublin Bay South, Labour)
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Our motion tomorrow.

Jim O'Callaghan (Dublin Bay South, Fianna Fail)
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-----and alleviate the issue in respect of housing.

We have repeatedly stated that the most effective way of getting people off the homelessness and housing lists is to ensure a greater supply of housing in our society, and available housing. Although the Deputy can criticise the Government for the amount, we have stated that this is our commitment. When you look at the figures produced, you can see definite progress in respect of it. Between July 2020 and the end of quarter 1 of 2025, 48,939 social homes were added to the social housing stock. That is a very significant number and cannot be ignored. Also, more than 13,100 homes were brought back into use under the voids programme. The Deputy will know from having been a TD for the city of Dublin that there are too many voids in Dublin, which means houses unused. We need to get them back into operation so families can get back into them. The years 2023 and 2024 saw the delivery of newly built social housing reach levels not seen since the 1970s, with almost 16,000 social homes built over those two years.

We are aware, and I am sure the Deputy is also, that our population is increasing very significantly. The population increased in the 12 months up to April 2024 by 98,000. This is putting huge pressures on the system. We have to recognise that although the Government is making a considerable effort and getting a lot of social housing developed, there will be issues because of the population rise.

Mary Lou McDonald (Dublin Central, Sinn Fein)
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The Government is failing abysmally. This is farcical.

Verona Murphy (Wexford, Independent)
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Please. It is not Deputy McDonald’s question.

Jim O'Callaghan (Dublin Bay South, Fianna Fail)
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When we add the housing assistance payment and rental accommodation scheme data, we see that 2,712 housing supports were delivered in quarter 1 of 2025. The Deputy also mentioned the tenant in situ scheme. That scheme has worked. It has worked throughout the country. I note there will sometimes be issues in respect of Dublin, but the measure------

Verona Murphy (Wexford, Independent)
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Please, Deputies, allow the answer.

Jim O'Callaghan (Dublin Bay South, Fianna Fail)
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-----has been important in the prevention of homelessness since its introduction in 2023. The Government is providing €325 million in 2025 for local authorities to buy second-hand properties.

Ivana Bacik (Dublin Bay South, Labour)
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Of course increasing supply is a huge part of resolving the housing crisis. We will be putting forward constructive, costed proposals in our alternative budget next week, just as we did in our manifesto last year, on how to increase the supply. The reality is that the Government has not met its own targets on house building. The Minister knows that.

On the tenant in situ scheme, of course it was a safety net that was introduced. We all agree it should have been introduced; however, the Government has gutted it, filleted it, so it is simply ineffective. All of us, including the Minister’s own backbenchers, are hearing it.

Our Labour Party motion tomorrow is putting forward practical, constructive ways in which the Government can address the specific issue of child homelessness.

The Minister said he is not going to announce budget proposals now. The Government could, however, take two of the steps we are calling on it to take in the motion we have tabled for tomorrow, which I hope it will support. Those steps do not involve budget proposals and could be taken now. One, will the Government pass our Labour Party Bill to protect families with children from homelessness and, two, will it restore the ban on no-fault evictions where children are involved? That simple measure would be a stopgap for sure, but it would offer struggling, despairing families some immediate safety net and respite.

Jim O'Callaghan (Dublin Bay South, Fianna Fail)
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As I said to Deputy McDonald, when the Labour Party produces its budget proposals, we will take them into account and the Government will give them consideration. I have no doubt that will happen in respect of that matter.

On what the Deputy said about the tenant in situ scheme, she should be aware that on 4 March last, the Government decided on a total of €325 million for second-hand social housing acquisitions this year. That is not a feeble effort; it is a hugely significant amount of money that the Government has made available. The funding allocations approach was a change from the approach in 2023 and 2024, when local authorities were issued with a guide number of acquisitions. The purpose of it is to allow local authorities to negotiate the acquisition costs with vendors and landlords and achieve the best value for money. Each local authority has received its individual allocation. The Deputy will be pleased to hear that Dublin City Council is the highest at €95 million for 2025. Local authorities are being provided with significant amounts of money and the Government wants to see them buying properties.

Ivana Bacik (Dublin Bay South, Labour)
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It has been spent. No new acquisitions.

Pearse Doherty (Donegal, Sinn Fein)
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It has been spent.

Mary Lou McDonald (Dublin Central, Sinn Fein)
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The money is gone.

Holly Cairns (Cork South-West, Social Democrats)
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For two years, the people of this country have been watching a genocide unfold in Gaza in a complete state of disbelief, wondering how this can be allowed to happen and how so-called world leaders can stand idly by as that genocide is livestreamed before our eyes. I am not dismissing the fact that Ireland recognised the State of Palestine; it was welcome. It is also welcome that more countries are doing the same now, but, ultimately, there is barely anything left to recognise. Gaza has been reduced to mass graves and rubble. It is two years and too little, too late, not to mention the fact that some of those countries now recognising Palestine are still arming Israel. What exactly has it achieved? Israel has not hesitated in its continuing pursuit of wiping out a population. Why is there such a reluctance to take further action? That is so hard for people to comprehend. It is hard to even believe.

We see footage of multiple babies packed into one incubator. We see parents cradling the bodies of their dead children. We see journalist after journalist annihilated. We then see the Government still dithering over the occupied territories Bill. Israel is starving Gaza and then killing people as they line up for food and water. It is bombing hospitals and refugee camps. It even bombed the team that was trying to negotiate a peace deal. This has been going on for two years. What more could it possibly take for this Government to act with conviction, consequence and the might of the strength of feeling in this country? Where is the decisive action we saw when Russia invaded Ukraine? Where are the sanctions? Where is the proportionate, rational response to a genocide? The western world has watched it all and done nothing. Actually, less than nothing.

A proposal to suspend parts of the EU-Israel trade agreement is finally on the cards. Making the announcement last week, the Vice President of the European Commission, Kaja Kallas, said she wanted to be very clear and stated, "the aim is not to punish Israel. The aim is to improve the humanitarian situation in Gaza.” Let me say that again: the aim is not to punish Israel. After Israel razed Gaza to the ground, murdered more than 20,000 children and bombed every hospital, this despicable and cowardly language is outrageous and shameful. As an EU citizen, I am ashamed of that response. Is the Minister ashamed too?

Jim O'Callaghan (Dublin Bay South, Fianna Fail)
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What is happening in Gaza is horrific slaughter. It is not just me, the Deputy and every other Member of this House saying that. We saw recently that a United Nations independent commission has ruled that what Israel is doing in Gaza is committing genocide. Many people in Ireland feel a sense of helplessness in the context of what can be done in response to it. My view is that this Government has done more than any other government in the world in response to the plight of the Palestinian people in Gaza. If we look around the world, what stands out is the fact that so many countries, including many Arab countries, have done so little for the cause of the Palestinians in Gaza. In contrast, Ireland has led the way, not just in Europe but also internationally. Like the Deputy, I was very pleased to hear at the weekend that so many other countries, including Portugal, France, Belgium, Luxembourg, Malta, Liechtenstein, New Zealand, the UK, Canada and Australia have decided to recognise the Palestinian state. I refer here to Portugal, France, Belgium, Luxembourg, Malta, Lichtenstein, New Zealand, the UK, Canada and Australia. Very many of these countries are small European countries. They have followed the example that Ireland set when, we along with Spain and Norway, decided that we would recognise a Palestinian state. There was huge pressure on the Irish Government not to do that, but we did it because it was the right thing to do. We can see that the example set by Ireland is being followed by other EU countries.

On the proposals regarding trade between Israel and the EU, when Ireland advocated that we should introduce an occupied territories Bill at European Union level, there was very little support. We now know that other countries are considering and introducing such a measure. That Bill has been very effective from Ireland's point of view in terms of putting the Israel-EU trade agreement on the agenda. Like everyone else in this House, the Deputy is aware of the historical alliances that exist between Israel and certain countries in the European Union. We can do very little about that, but the pressure Ireland has put on is having an impact. We can see that the EU-Israel trade agreement is coming under consideration. I am hopeful - and I know the Taoiseach and the Tánaiste are hopeful - that when it comes to suspension of that agreement, measures will be taken. Of course, they should have been taken many years ago. However, Ireland is a small country. We are an influential country but all we can do is use our reputation and influence to try to get others to follow our example. We can see that, to date, this has been done. When we look at the cases that were taken at the International Criminal Court, again, Ireland intervened in respect of them.

The Deputy can criticise the Government. When we look at this matter objectively internationally, however, we can see that the Irish Government is one of the most vociferous supporters of the Palestinian people and is standing up to the genocide that is happening in Gaza.

Holly Cairns (Cork South-West, Social Democrats)
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As the Minister said, we all welcome the fact that countries are now recognising the State of Palestine. We welcomed it when Ireland did so too. The point I am trying to make and the point the Minister is ignoring is that this is literally the bare minimum and that there is hardly anything left to recognise. The bar is literally on the floor when we are talking about Ireland being held up as an example. Unless the international community acts, there will be literally nothing left to recognise.

The Israeli Government has not hidden its genocidal intent. The Taoiseach acknowledged that yesterday. He said that some Israeli ministers had genocidal intent from day one, and now it is day 720. When will the response to Israel match the scale of its crimes? When is real action going to be taken? In this country, we could do more. Enacting the occupied territories Bill has been a solemn commitment of this Government - an election commitment that has not yet been lived up. Can the Minister give me a date? When will the Government enact the occupied territories Bill?

Jim O'Callaghan (Dublin Bay South, Fianna Fail)
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It is in priority legislation and will be enacted and certainly introduced into the Oireachtas this term. I wish to make one important point that is sometimes not emphasised enough. The entity responsible for the genocide in Gaza is the Israeli Government. We all need to point that out and state it repeatedly. Rather than criticising the Irish Government for narrow domestic political purposes, the Deputy should acknowledge the very real efforts that have been made by the Irish Government to support Palestine. She inquired as to what else is being done. We have made responses in respect of the cases that are before the International Criminal Court. We have provided €90 million. We have tried to influence our international partners. As I said, Ireland cannot just dictate to the rest of Europe or, indeed, the rest of the world what foreign policy decisions should be made.

Holly Cairns (Cork South-West, Social Democrats)
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I did not say that. I asked-----

Jim O'Callaghan (Dublin Bay South, Fianna Fail)
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We can influence it but we cannot dictate it. She can see what has happened over those horrific 700 days, that people and other countries are gradually coming around to recognising the Irish Government's position is the correct position.

Charles Ward (Donegal, 100% Redress Party)
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I am not going to mince my words. The defective concrete scandal is a national emergency the Minister's Government wilfully mismanaged for over a decade. The Government has worked hard to fool the public and portray that we are being looked after, but the truth is we are now in the second failed scheme. My staff see suicidal ideation every week in our office. The uncertainty and the feeling of abandonment in this crisis has caused this. Some 40% of homeowners are living with severe depression. This is the reality and yet there is still no timeline for when IS 465 will be reviewed. Legislation for retrospective payments has still not been published since the grant amount was increased almost a year ago, despite the Minister, Deputy Browne, telling us it would be prioritised in June.

Let us talk about unethical engineering decisions that are still happening. Chartered engineers, under the original scheme, made recommendations for full demolition and yet chartered engineers from the Housing Agency continue to overturn them. People are being told their homes are safe when they are not. Complaints have been made to Engineers Ireland but the Government remains silent at the cost of people's health and safety. The truth is the Government has the power to fix this crisis today. It does not need to wait for the review of IS 465. The defective concrete has been trotted out as a poor excuse for inaction for far too long. The Government wrote the legislation in full knowledge the obstacles it would present to accessing the scheme and continues to hide behind this to this day. Under Irish law the Government can declare a national emergency and issue ministerial guidance and fast-track legislation to address this crisis. The legal framework is there but the will to act is missing.

I need real answers and I would be grateful if the Minister would respectfully give them to me and those affected rather than running down the clock, as usually happens, with people looking over and wasting time. We need answers and we need them now. People are suffering and literally dying. This Government runs down the clock and delays things. Will the Minister and the Government use the powers under the Public Service Management Act 1997 to immediately issue ministerial guidelines to the Housing Agency to stop issuing partial fixes and ensure full remediation of affected homes? Will the Government use its ministerial authority to direct the Housing Agency to reinstate the engineers' original recommendations for further demolition, stop the madness of partial fixes that will fail in the future and follow the science? Finally, will there be legislation to ensure families who were early movers and were reassured they would not be disadvantaged be given the 10% retrospective payment they were meant to get and not be punished?

Jim O'Callaghan (Dublin Bay South, Fianna Fail)
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I thank Deputy Ward very much. I will try to be as succinct in my answers as his questions were. His first was whether or not the Government would use the Public Service Management Act. The answer to the question is "No". The Government will not use it because the defective concrete block grant scheme operates under its own primary legislation and in November 2024, following the receipt of preliminary results from scientific research in Donegal, the Department announced changes to the way the scheme works for certain homeowners. All homeowners who have been given a non-demolition option have been offered a choice of continuing with the work on their dwelling under the option determined or the option of a full technical review of their application by the Housing Agency. This review will be informed by the current research once the full review of the national standard is complete.

The Deputy's second question was on whether the Government would use its ministerial authority to direct the Housing Agency to reinstate original engineering recommendations. In response to that I would say an appeals panel has been established to assess appeals made under the Remediation of Dwellings Damaged by the Use of Defective Concrete Blocks Act. The panel offers those affected by decisions made by the Housing Agency and local authorities an opportunity to have their cases assessed by an independent group of industry experts. The points of appeal that are available to an applicant include the validation stage by the local authority, the damage threshold determination made by the Housing Agency, the remediation option and the grant amount approved and where a local authority refused to make a grant payment pursuant to a grant approval. It should be noted the appeals panel is statutorily independent in the performance of its functions.

It is independent of the Minister, the Department and, indeed, the Housing Agency.

The Deputy's final question was on whether families who were early movers in the scheme were told they would not be disadvantaged. He wants to know if the Government will pass the legislation to ensure that all homeowners receive the uplift in respect of rates and the cap retrospectively. The decision by the Government in 2021 was to the effect that applicants under the previous grant scheme would not be disadvantaged from being early movers and would benefit from the increased grant amounts that were available under the current scheme upon its commencement in 2023. This was allowed for in the 2022 Act under transitional provisions, and these early movers have benefited from the increased scheme cap and grant rates provided for.

I welcome the Deputy's direct and surgically focused questions. I just wanted to give him those answers as best I could in respect of the matter. I am conscious that he referred to legislation. I am instructed that legislation will be introduced as a priority in the forthcoming term. That is something the Government will give priority to.

Charles Ward (Donegal, 100% Redress Party)
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We have unethical engineering going on in this scheme. That cannot be denied. A number of people were downgraded. They were granted full demolition. An engineer came out, did their job, examined it and then it was passed over to the Housing Agency. Someone in the agency looked at that fellow engineer's work and then downgraded it. This is unethical. It is unethical engineering. What is going has been going on for some time. We suspect that this is widespread and that it will continue. How can we have engineers determining if something is a downgrade when we are reviewing IS 465. They are still coming downgrading people, even though we do not have the review of IS 465? Can the Government please put something in place to suspend this in order that these people will have a chance to get their reviews done properly and not when we are in the middle of a review of IS 465?

Jim O'Callaghan (Dublin Bay South, Fianna Fail)
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I will talk to the Minister for housing who has responsibility for this matter. I will raise with him the issues the Deputy has identified. The Deputy stated that there is unethical engineering ongoing in Donegal. If that is the case, there are mechanisms in place to report engineers who are acting unethically. I urge people who believe they are the victims of unethical engineering to use the appropriate mechanism to report engineers involved in that type of activity. We have an institute of engineers in Ireland. That body regulates engineering performance and anyone engaged in unethical behaviour should be brought to the its attention.

In the context of the issue of defective concrete blocks, from speaking to Deputies McConalogue and Gallagher, I am conscious of the impact this is having in Donegal. The Government has not been found wanting when it comes to providing money to resolve this matter via the scheme. A huge amount of money has been made available in the past and more will be available in the future.