Timmy Dooley (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the opportunity to contribute to this debate because there is a real issue with defective blocks in County Clare. It is not mica but pyrite and we too want to be included in the scheme. We will not accept anything less than 100% redress. I have visited the homes affected and to say the homeowners are devastated by what is happening is an understatement. Their walls are crumbling and their lives are decimated. The State needs to stand behind them. I understand that a working group has been established with representatives from the mica action group in the north west. I ask that the Department also appoint somebody from the Clare action group to join that committee, in order to give an insight into a similar problem that is different in nature.

I join colleagues in recognising that others need to participate in this redress scheme. There is evidence that the defective blocks used in Clare came from a Roadstone quarry. That company is part of a very large multinational organisation and it is right and fitting that an organisation like CRH would contribute to redress. That should not be for the homeowners to deal with. That is an issue for Government. The Government now needs to come forward and set out a clear plan to provide 100% redress. If others have to participate in funding that plan, such as Roadstone or CRH, that can be dealt with by the Government, not the homeowners.