Defective Concrete Blocks Social Homes Scheme 2026: Motion
Dail Éireann — 2026-09-23
============================================================

Danny Healy-Rae (IND), Kerry

I am glad to have the opportunity to talk about this matter, as I have done many times in the past. I welcome that the social houses in Donegal that are damaged will have a scheme to replace them. I cannot understand why it has taken so long and why we are only at this now. Clearly, this must have happened at the same time as the private houses.
Like Deputy Gallagher, I insist that the Department of housing cover the cost in full. It cannot be left to the local authorities to do so. As has been pointed out, they do not have the wherewithal to raise funding to make up any matching difference. There is no question about that. The Government must fund the replacement of these houses in full. I ask the Government to do so in the most expedient way possible to ensure that people will not be upset or disenfranchised in the tumble-down houses they are living in at present. We all remember Bridie Gallagher singing "The Homes of Donegal". It is clear that many people in their homes in Donegal are not happy. We hope that they will be and that it will not take long to address the problem.
Certainly, we are doing a lot of talking here about the defective concrete blocks in Donegal, Mayo and different places. It is time the Government got a handle on and dealt with the matter. The country is awash with money.

---

Source: Houses of the Oireachtas. Licensed under CC BY 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). The Official Report is revised after first publication; the fetch timestamp below identifies the version quoted.

Record URI: https://data.oireachtas.ie/akn/ie/debateRecord/dail/2026-09-23/debate/main
Retrieved: 2026-09-28T05:50:49+00:00
Sitting date: 2026-09-23