As temperatures plummet, thousands of people with disabilities face increased hardship and isolation due to the Government's poor budget decisions. People with disabilities are €1,400 worse off due to the removal of essential supports in budget 2026. I have been contacted by many constituents over the Christmas period who are struggling with these cuts. Donegal is an isolated area and we have had bad snow and ice. People with disabilities have been basically abandoned. I want the Taoiseach to think in particular ab…

The Mercosur deal is a great example of the Government again putting EU demands over the wants and needs of our own citizens. It is yet another example of the Government completely failing to do the right thing and then, embarrassingly, trying to save face at the last minute. The Government had to be dragged kicking and screaming to do the right thing for its own citizens. The reality is that it knew this deal would go through anyway, so it voted "No". It did so to save face and it decided to do so when it was obvi…

I have engaged with the Minister many times regarding the issue. Despite this, nothing has changed for the residents of Elm Park in Buncrana. I would be grateful if he would provide me with an update on the situation of the defective homes built on a flood plain in Elm Park. What is the predicted cost of installing flood defences and will he consider relocating the residents of Elm Park?

This week, Storm Bram brought another weather warning to Donegal. Storms are becoming more and more frequent and these houses are becoming more and more dangerous. External walls are being damaged by the Crana River at the risk of flooding for these homes. The residents cannot go on living like this. I have asked the Minister of State for a predicted cost for installing flood defences but it is very clear that the construction of these flood defences and giving temporary rental accommodation to these residents will…

There are many ongoing issues in Donegal, including Elm Park, that require the Minister of State's immediate attention. He needs to do far more regarding the flood relief schemes across the whole county. There is still no sign of a flood relief scheme plan for Killybegs, which came very close to being flooded again recently. Residents and businesses are still waiting anxiously, fearing what each storm may bring. Far more needs to be done to protect coastal communities from coastal erosion, especially given the incr…

St. Francis' National School in Barnesmore, County Donegal, is currently facing a crisis due to a severe shortage of special needs assistant, SNA, support. Four children with additional needs started in the school in September but despite this, no additional SNAs have been allocated. The current allocation is inadequate and the children have complex needs. The situation has become very distressing for the families, teachers and SNAs, who are doing everything possible to provide care for the pupils and secure inclus…

This Bill should have been an opportunity to correct a fundamentally broken system regarding everything from building control to where we are heading right now. Instead, we are laying more complexity on top of injustice and calling it progress. I have submitted 18 pages of amendments to improve this scheme, to make it fair and to make it work, yet more than half of these amendments have been thrown out, including an amendment providing for a March cut-off date. However, 43 families were absolutely left behind havin…

I am speaking on building control. There is building control in this.

If am not allowed to talk about building control, there are building control elements all over this. Okay, I will move on. The transitional provisions in section 32 transitional provisions are welcome because they ensure that previous applications are not invalidated, but they do not address the systemic delays. Part 3, which amends the Building Control Act 1990, links defective concrete remediation to national building standards.. This is necessary for safety. Sections 31 to 33, inclusive, update certificates and …

I move amendment No. 1: In page 5, line 22, to delete “Blocks”. I will make the speech I was not allowed to make earlier and I will not be muzzled. I will talk about defective concrete. Today's Bill should have been an opportunity to correct the fundamentally broken system. Instead, we are laying more complexity on top of injustice and calling it progress. I have submitted 18 pages of amendments to improve this scheme, yet more than half of those amendments were ruled out of order, including my amendment regarding …

As Deputy O'Donoghue was saying about building, I have built for years and years, including in Inishowen, the most affected area, in the Finn Valley and in all these areas. However, I have also poured concrete into the streets. As Deputy O'Donoghue was saying, aggregate stone is a little bit different but the same infected stone is used. We have it in the streets, in the houses, everywhere. There are nurseries in that county that are falling and the children cannot even go outside to play because the pathways are t…

I will give a flavour of the facts on the ground. On option 1, Donegal County Council states - I just got this in - that 121 houses have been built since the scheme came in. In total, 229, 92 combinations and eight option twos. When you outlook option 1, that is 121. Anything else is a remediation option that will be coming back to visit at expense to the Exchequer. That is failure. For us to service, let us say, 10,000 houses in Donegal when we know there is a case for 25,000, if we are doing it properly, we need …

I agree with Deputy Doherty's proposal in the amendment. We have to think differently and we have to think outside the box about what is coming ahead. Deputy Mac Lochlainn spoke about the lack of homes being built in Donegal and he referred to that period when we had the crash. We are catching up and we have a humanitarian crisis on our doorstep. We have to think outside the box. What Deputy Doherty is suggesting would work but with it we could also take a blueprint that would change housing moving forward and I th…

When we are talking about scrutiny we have to talk about the fact there is a lack of scrutiny. The Minister of State talks about scrutiny but with the way this has all unfolded over the last few days that is very rich. There was a lack of scrutiny.

I move amendment No. 15: In page 6, between lines 5 and 6, to insert the following: “Amendment of section 3 of Principal Act 4. Section 3 of the Principal Act is amended by the insertion of the following subsections after subsection (3): “(4) The Minister shall maintain a single publicly accessible online repository containing: (a) all regulations made under this Act; (b) all ministerial orders made under this Act; (c) all circulars, letters, and guidance issued to designated local authorities or the Housing Agency…

I move amendment No. 16: In page 6, between lines 5 and 6, to insert the following: “ Amendment of section 5 of Principal Act 4. Section 5 of the Principal Act is amended by the substitution of the following subsection for subsection (5): “(5) A designated local authority shall be responsible for the performance, in its designated local authority area, of the functions assigned to it by or under this Act, and shall, within 3 months of the end of each quarter, publish on its website a summary of: (a) the number of a…

I move amendment No. 18: In page 6, between lines 18 and 19, to insert the following: “Amendment of section 8 of Principal Act 5. Section 8 of the Principal Act is amended by the insertion of the following subsection after subsection (2): “(3) Nothing in this Act or any regulations established under it will affect the eligibility of a dwelling that has already been determined to be impacted under I.S. 465:2018, except in cases where fraud or clear error is proven or a non-scientific diagnosis has been given.”.”.

No.

I will give the Minister a quick example. I am from a small island off the coast of Ireland, Arranmore Island, and I live in a section of it. Within five minutes of my house was one of my neighbours. He moved to Letterkenny and I moved to the Finn Valley and the two of us had houses. I built my own house; he bought his. His house is semi-detached. He has children trying to go to college. His neighbour has knocked down his house. He is not in a position to get it and he would not meet the damage threshold. I have be…

Semi-detached homes are most commonly built sharing the same chimney breast. Unfortunately, I have had to go in with a teleporter to a house that was demolished, seal up the house and basically brick up the house where there was no chimney any more because it had to be taken down. We also had to put in a flue liner for a family friend all before 3 p.m. when the kids got home. The night before, they had to stay in their granny's because the house got tumbled and their room was left exposed. Then, the rodents - the m…