Mark Duffy (Fine Gael)

I join my colleagues, Senators Boyle and Flynn, in raising the issue of defective concrete blocks. I entered politics six or seven years ago. We obviously all enter politics to try to help people, communities and society, and the most pronounced and most pressing issue since I entered political life has been defective concrete blocks, in particular the pyrite situation in County Mayo and the mica situation in County Donegal. People buy a house in good faith, pay their local property tax and home insurance and play by the rules in trying to build their forever home. I have met affected families, joined them in protest and seen the difficulty and challenges they face in everyday life. The stress and pressure that puts on people cannot be overstated.

I welcome the changes that have improved the scheme over the past number of years, but more needs to be done. I ask that the Minister come to the House to discuss this issue in advance of publishing new guidelines and policies. Hundreds of homeowners are affected in counties Mayo, Donegal and Sligo and across the western seaboard, and in other pockets of the island. We need to create schemes that work for people. We need to make sure the scheme is orientated to each of the individual families and homeowners who have experienced their own challenges and difficulties. Each situation is unique and different.We need to make sure that we have a tailor-made scheme for that. We need to make sure that this never happens again. There is still no test for defective country blocks in the industry, which is scandalous. We need to tackle this head on and take it seriously.

There is a meeting in Ballina this evening which I, unfortunately, cannot attend, but I wish Margaret Walsh and the Mayo Pyrite Action Group the very best. They gathered homeowners together to collate the priorities of each individual homeowner. I hope the Minister can deliver and respond to the asks of homeowners who, through no fault of their own, are in a difficult situation. For them, their families and communities and for the future of homeowners, we must deliver. I call on the Minister to come to the House as soon as possible to discuss the measures that are to be enacted to ensure that we deliver for these homeowners in their hour of need.