Pádraig Mac Lochlainn (Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I am sure the Minister of State for housing and urban renewal will have watched the "Prime Time" documentary aired on 31 May 2016 that revealed the devastating consequences of a profound failure in State regulation regarding the manufacture of concrete blocks. The concrete block is the core component of the family home. Senator Coffey visited Donegal in his time as Minister of State and examined this issue. Essentially, family homes in Donegal are literally falling apart. Families have to decide whether they continue to live in their homes and risk the roof falling down on top of them because of the impact on the gables of their homes.

The Government set up an expert panel to look at this issue but its terms of reference are inadequate. The Government has only asked the panel to look at the issue as it pertains to private homes. I can confirm that Donegal County Council has examined hundreds of examples of its housing stock and has confirmed that very large numbers of houses are affected by this disaster for many families across the county. The issue also apparently affects schools and other public buildings, yet the Government has only asked this panel to look at the matter as it pertains to private homes. I am asking the Minister of State simply to amend the terms of reference to ensure this panel can investigate the matter as it pertains to private and public homes.

The Minister of State also needs to clarify whether the panel can recommend a redress scheme similar to the pyrite redress scheme that was rightly put in place for devastated families in Dublin and north Leinster.Families have had to make difficult choices. They had money set aside for education of their children in years to come but they have had to rebuild the outer leaf of their home. They had no choice and they could not wait for the Government to take action.

Will the Minister of State clarify those matters today? I know he will go to the county and meet families soon. I hope he will meet a delegation from Donegal County Council. He should be aware that public representatives in the Minister of State's county took action on a similar matter when pyrite had an impact. This affects hundreds or probably thousands of homes across Donegal. It was caused by a profound failure in State regulation, as it was left to manufacturers to ensure that concrete blocks were built to a required standard. I urge the Minister of State to take the opportunity today to clarify the matter and assure us he will amend those terms of reference.