Nessa Cosgrove (Labour)

I will speak about the amended scheme for remediation of defective blocks. Reliance is upon the standard IS 465 of 2018 which is unfit for purpose. It assesses superficial damage, not structural stability, and needs revision based on the best scientific evidence available on pyrrhotite sulfate attack. Engineers have downgraded recommendations for the full demolition of properties to partial demolition or remediation. We have heard from experts who say that partial demolition is a long-term disaster. We have seen one home of a pair of semi-detached houses demolished as defective while the other was left standing, despite displaying defects. We have seen houses partially demolished and reconstructed around walls which have not yet displayed signs of damage, and foundations are not included in the scheme. Science shows that deterioration can spread from defective blocks to seemingly healthy blocks, which have been left behind in walls or foundations and could be concealing a dark secret.

Individuals, families and whole communities are experiencing significant distress, including high incidence of mental health issues among those affected. This was raised clearly by Deputy Charles Ward in his motion yesterday. According to a study done by Ulster University, 30% of affected homeowners have suicidal tendencies and 40% have severe depression. The importance of having a safe secure home cannot be overemphasised. I urge everyone to go to Donegal to see the absolutely devastating consequences. It is heartbreaking to see. People are sitting in their homes which are crumbling around them. Deputy Ward knows about this first hand.

None of this is the fault of the affected homeowners. They bought or built their houses having faith in the system of regulations that are supposed to protect people, but the system failed. The danger is that it may continue to fail if this scheme is not addressed properly. Producers say these blocks meet the standard, but how can we have faith in those who are certifying them? Often quarries are certifying their own blocks. What steps is the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage taking to ensure quarries are adequately audited and that Government inspectors, not quarry owners or employees, seek material for inspection?

The pyrite remediation scheme applied in Leinster provided the perfect model on which to build communities. It was an end-to-end scheme delivered by the Housing Agency, which procured contractors, managed the work and paid the bills directly, with no upfront costs for homeowners. As has been seen in Donegal, at the moment it can cost between €700 and €1,000 to get an initial building assessment and several thousand euro to have inspections and tests carried out and reports written. These costs, along with the cost of a rebuild, are refunded if the work is approved, but homeowners have to come up with the cash first and the banks are not giving out loans because they know the houses are crumbling. This disaster has been described as being like a slow-moving earthquake and the response should be like a response to an earthquake. The crisis needs to be addressed as a whole and not as a series of individual misfortunes. Between 20,000 and 30,000 homes have been negatively affected by defective concrete blocks in the north west.

I thank the Minister of State for coming to the House. I urge him, the Minister and other Ministers of State in the Department to instruct their officials to carry out a full assessment of the challenges faced in Donegal and to empower the Housing Agency to provide an optimal end-to-end State-managed remediation model, like we saw in Leinster for pyrite, to relieve families of the financial and administrative burden of remediating their homes.