Kevin Humphreys (Labour) | Oireachtas source

What happened in Paris was an appalling tragedy. However, more than 70,000 residents throughout this country are living in defective apartment blocks which are possibly fire hazards. In many of them there are fire marshals walking up and down the corridors 24 hours a day. We have raised this issue in the House on many occasions. It is due to light-touch regulation and the 70,000 householders have been hung out to dry. We have ways to assist them through the Pyrite Resolution Board, but no assistance has been given to them in that regard. I have asked the Leader and the Minister on many occasions about the 70,000 householders. Some mechanism must be put in place to assist them, such as a soft loan to be given to them over 25 years at a preferential interest rate. We cannot leave 70,000 householders at risk of losing not just their homes but also possibly their lives. No Government can stand over this. The last Government created a template for dealing with this issue. It was a soft loan to help residents to rebuild, with grants paid in respect of other apartment blocks. The Minister and the Minister of State seem to close their ears-----