Fiona O'Loughlin (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I support the Order of Business as outlined by the Leader. On behalf of the people of Kildare, can I say how pleased we are to have had €8.3 million in sports grants awarded to the county late last night? It is really important news. Our sports centres and volunteers are the lifeblood of our community. On behalf of those who may have been disappointed at being invalidated for reasons that could be rectified, I ask for a speedy appeals process for those that are deserving of those grants.

I also raise the remediation scheme for apartments that were built during the Celtic tiger times. We have been waiting for a remediation scheme for quite some time. I note and welcome that details of the scheme were brought to the Cabinet very recently for approval. It is expected that legislation will give force to the scheme later this year, hopefully within the next few weeks and months. I have a concern regarding what is proposed in that houses with defects are excluded from the scheme. Many of us remember a situation that happened in Newbridge, in the constituency in which I live, in 2015. At the time, six houses in Millfield Manor went ablaze and burned to the ground. There were people living in them. Thankfully, this happened during the day and nobody was injured or hurt. However, the owners have been left in limbo completely in respect of this scheme. I have been calling for it ever since then and was very disappointed when I saw that redress was going to be designed solely for apartments and duplexes and not for houses. There is no clear logic to this. Many houses that are highly deficient in fire safety measures are not included. I call for them to be included and for the legislation be amended.

I also raise the issue of the upcoming Hallowe'en season. Now is the time to talk about it, not the week of Hallowe'en, as now is the time when people travel over the Border to buy fireworks which are clearly illegal in the Republic. This causes many problems for older people, for example, for people who live with autism and for animals. I was recently contacted by a constituent whose dog had a stroke last year and who has had to pay resulting medical bills of €4,500. Now is the time to plead with people to please not buy fireworks and bangers. They are illegal. I ask that this be policed appropriately.