Timmy Dooley (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

Like others, I welcome the Minister to the House. I thank him for his engagement with me on the concerns I raised about residents in Clare whose homes have suffered very serious damage due to the presence of pyrite in concrete blocks. From a very early stage, he visited some of the homeowners and met the group. As time went by, Clare was included in the scheme. Having spoken to the Clare Pyrite Action Group, headed by Dr. Martina Cleary and Ms Mary Hanley, two formidable women who have worked hard to put together a comprehensive response, I have learned they still have very serious concerns. They are not questioning the Minister’s integrity at all but are concerned about how this will play out over time. They have raised some serious issues with me. It is understandable because the homeowners concerned in Clare, who are no different from those anywhere else, are concerned about their future. Some are elderly and know they are not in a position to gain access to additional borrowings to finish off a house that has to be rebuilt. People are concerned about whether the gable end will fall, leaving them without a home. Others, who have mortgages, are concerned about their ability to continue to repay those mortgages if they are unable to reside in their residences. From their perspective, there are significant gaps in the legislation. That might have been better. I am aware of the timescale and the argument the Minister rightly makes, namely, that we need to get this legislation on the books and start helping people whose homes are affected, but the difficulty in getting the legislation through before the end of this term is that it is not being thrashed out in debate in the way some would like, such that they can better understand the specific issues. I understand the Minister’s position on that fully, but it makes it a little more difficult when people do not hear the debate go on for longer. I am not suggesting we can change that now but just want to vent the concerns raised with me.

Unfortunately, I could not be here on Second Stage due to a family bereavement. The Acting Chairperson might therefore give me some latitude to outline some of the concerns. One of the main issues I hear about from Clare homeowners concerns the damage threshold. There is a belief that it will determine who will be accepted under the scheme. As yet, that damage threshold has not been determined. People are worried that when regulations on this are set, 90% of applicants could be refused. These are the concerns that have been raised with me. I am raising them to give the Minister an opportunity to address them, hopefully in the relatively short time we have.

All homes with pyrite block damage should be included in the scheme. The damage threshold, if it is to be in legislation, should be used only to prioritise the order of remediation and not prevent homes that are damaged from qualifying.

It is important to note that pyrite block damage seems to manifest more slowly than mica block damage. Therefore, it is often less dramatic visually. However, scientific evidence from core testing shows that blocks have crumbled to dust or rubble beneath the render. In Clare, people have been advised for years to cover the cracks of the walls to keep the rain out for as long as possible. They are now concerned that if the damage threshold is used in a particular way in circumstances in which they have plastered over the cracks, and if it is based on a visual inspection, they could potentially be excluded. Maybe the Minister could state whether those whose cracks manifest at a later stage will still be considered for the scheme. I will conclude on that. We might talk about other issues later.