Frances Black (Independent) | Oireachtas source

They are the victims of gross State failure. It is a core function of Government to enact and enforce laws and regulations which prevent market actors from engaging in dangerous, deceptive and dishonest conduct. This Bill does not satisfy the demands of the mica families and campaigners. Redress is about making a person who has been injured whole. It needs to be proportionate and adequate and this Bill, unfortunately, is neither.

There are many issues with this Bill, as the number of amendments compiled by activists and submitted by Opposition Deputies and Senators indicate. One particularly unbelievable one which I want to highlight is the potential penalisation of the redress scheme participants who choose to rebuild smaller homes so as not to incur costs. These homeowners are making a practical concession and a real sacrifice to deal with the flaws in the redress plan and they face further reductions in their entitlement. This is very shoddy treatment. The mica families have been failed by the State all over again.

The crumbling mica houses are people’s homes but they are also crime scenes. They are evidence of fraud on a gigantic scale which has had a devastating impact on the lives of these homeowners and their families and is about to cost the Exchequer €3 billion. What a catastrophe this is.

The quarries which sold the defective material that caused this crisis need to be held to account. However, like most Irish people, I do not feel optimistic that there will be consequences. The Irish people are continually left holding the bag when the Government is forced to intervene in scandals and in crises. The banks were bailed out; the church was indemnified against abuse claims; and time and time again, Irish taxpayers have been made to pay for the criminal behaviour of deeply corrupt institutions.