Mike Kennelly (Fine Gael)

I raise a humanitarian issue for a family in Listowel. Over the last ten years, they have been flooded in their home three times. They applied for the relocation scheme through the OPW but it is not working in their favour. The family are Artur and Liene Gabrielyan and their two sons. I will outline the details of their family journey so far with the OPW relocation scheme. They applied for the scheme in 2020 and were approved in 2021 when they were offered X, Y and Z. The offer was increased after the family were flooded for the third time in June 2023. Unfortunately, the amount does not coincide with market values right now.

The family have made bids on numerous houses and have been outbid each time. The clauses in the relocation scheme make it impossible. The scheme does not allow for a deposit so the family has to come up with that money themselves, which can be as much as 10% of the cost of the house. The family's house has to be demolished before they can draw down any money, which is crazy. The bank has a clause in place stating that the timeframe between the house being demolished and the sale finishing cannot be more than three months. The process is protracted and there is very little in the way of support to the family from the OPW to navigate the intricacies of this scheme. For example, in December 2023, the family put a deposit on a house and had an understanding with the agent that they could be caretakers, live in the house and pay rent on it until a deal went through. When the owners learned there would be a delay in receiving the full amount of funds, they pulled out of the sale in April 2024. In effect, this scheme means a family will be homeless between the time their property is demolished and the sale of the new property is finalised. Even if the family could somehow manage all of this, the amount of money the scheme is allocating to them is way too low. I could go on about the despair and anxiety this family are going through right now. They are basically homeless because of the next flood and because of this. I ask the Leader to call on the Minister of State for the OPW to solve this issue and come to the House to explain why this family must go through this torment.