Remediation of Dwellings Damaged by the Use of Defective Concrete Blocks (Amendment) Bill 2025: Committee and Remaining Stages
Dail Éireann — 2025-12-10
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Pádraig Mac Lochlainn (SF), Donegal

The Minister of State did not deal with the issues I raised. Is it a good idea to knock down half a block, to take down half a house when the house next door is equally damaged but that has to stay because that is not eligible for the scheme? That house might be a holiday home. It could be a rental property, more than one or it could be that the person just cannot afford it which is the most common example that we have. Is it okay to force families to knock down half? When you talk to the builders, there is extreme nervousness around this.
I will not repeat everything I said. The Minister of State heard what I said. He is an intelligent man. I know the Minister of State and we have dealt with each other over many things over the years. I will ask the Minister of State again. Is it acceptable to force people to knock down half a semi-detached block and leave the other half, that is equally damaged by defective blocks, standing? It makes no sense but that is what the Minister's scheme forces people to do.
If the Minister and the Minister of State have time next year, in January, we would be happy to take them around and show them the reality on the ground. They can take Deputies Gallagher and McConalogue so we do not exclude anybody. I am serious about this. Please come. The Minister will force this amendment and all these amendments through tonight. That is how it is going to play out, but I ask him now to come out and look at this issue of semi-detached houses, come and visit some of the houses that we are dealing with in Donegal, Mayo and these counties, and hopefully we can change his mind.

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Record URI: https://data.oireachtas.ie/akn/ie/debateRecord/dail/2025-12-10/debate/main
Retrieved: 2026-08-14T04:54:27+00:00
Sitting date: 2025-12-10