Pádraig Mac Lochlainn (Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

Thousands of families in the north Donegal area have been devastated by the issue of mica, a mineral in the concrete blocks in their homes. I have been in many of those homes and have spoken to the families, sometimes on a weekly and even a daily basis, in regard to what they have been enduring. It is heartbreaking. As the House knows, people's greatest ambition is to take out a mortgage and build or purchase their own home. They do that over 20, 30 or 40 years. It is a massive undertaking and probably the biggest thing they will do in their life. It is said that a person's home is their castle. No one wants to see that home crumbling around them.

I want to share a couple of stories with the Minister of State because we need to reinforce how important this is and why we urgently need timeframes for a redress scheme in 2019. I visited the home of a family where the man took us around all of the outside walls. It was a beautiful setting overlooking the Donegal countryside - a dream home. This man and his wife are hard workers. To see that man break down in tears in his kitchen, worried that the ceiling or the gable wall could fall down on his family, is something that never leaves me. There is also the story of a man in Inishowen who took his own life, no doubt because of the unbelievable financial stress of having to move out of the home and deal with all of that. I could tell the Minister of State many more stories if I had the time. What has happened is heartbreaking and devastating.

The Mica Action Group is a group of affected families who have campaigned long and hard. They are inspirational people. Their work led to the expert panel report which concluded its work in June 2017, one and a half years ago. It made firm recommendations and, having identified that as many as 5,000 homes in Donegal are affected, it stated that a protocol needs to be drawn up by the National Standards Authority of Ireland, NSAI. There was then the issue of Engineers Ireland putting together a panel of engineers who would inspect the homes and recommend the work that needs to be done. While it took too long, I understand all of that work is completed. The Government has said we will have a mica redress scheme and families can make their homes safe.

What I ask today, as we wrap up business for 2018, is to please provide me and the people of Donegal, in particular the campaigners, with a clear date as to when this scheme will be up and running, when families can apply for funding to bring in a qualified engineer to do the studies necessary and when contractors can be brought in to make their homes safe. It is vital, as we move towards Christmas, that the families affected will know this is the last Christmas they will spend in, frankly, devastation and heartbreak in what should be their happy family home. I need timeframes and confirmation today as to when this is going to happen in 2019, and reassurance that the moneys have been provided for this to happen.