Mary Seery Kearney (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I congratulate the Leader on her wedding. I am also delighted by Senator Higgins's news, on which I congratulate her.

On several occasions, I have asked for a special debate on apartment defects. Such a debate must happen as a matter of urgency. The remediation scheme, and the money allocated for it, was a positive decision by the Government. I do not understand the delay in the Minister coming to the House to explore the aspects of apartment defects that need to be discussed by way of statements. I urge the Leader to ensure that happens as quickly as possible.

Every Wednesday at 1 p.m., members of the Not Our Fault campaign are outside the gates of Leinster House. I urge colleagues to go out and talk to them. They are headed up by Sam and Odette, who have been guests in the Gallery in the past. They have spoken eloquently about their experience in Park West of being presented with a massive bill for defects that were not their fault and about which they could not possibly have known. They are living with the daily stress of having to fix those defects in a context in which the Government has committed more than €2.5 billion to a remediation scheme but discussions on the mechanisms of the scheme seem to be going on forever. I wish I were able to inform them of what is happening. As a member of the housing committee and of one of the parties in government, I would like to think I would be briefed directly. Unfortunately, that is not the case. I am hearing the information second-hand from the people who are experiencing this issue and from those who advocate for them and who have the ear of the Minister.It is not reasonable that this continues. It would be reasonable for the Minister to address the House on exactly what is happening and the timeline, and that we all get an opportunity to make an input and speak on behalf of our constituents. There are 100,000 of those apartments across this country. It is of relevance to every Member of this House to speak and advocate on behalf of the people they represent.