A couple of weeks ago, I raised the need for an urgent intervention in respect of families who are in homes that are not fit for human habitation. The relevant legislation was passed in July, but those families were protesting outside the Donegal County Council offices in Lifford yesterday. They are desperate. They are in houses with black mould on the walls. Their houses are crumbling and falling down around them.

Can I get an update on what is going to happen? Will this matter be resolved? If not, we need an urgent statement from the Minister.

Under Standing Order 83(3)( b ) I propose that the vote be taken by other than electronic means.

I repeat the comments of Deputy Patricia Ryan. We are disappointed the Minister did not stay for the entire debate. This is a profound emergency across the State and the Minister who is responsible to this Oireachtas for housing did not stay more than half an hour so he was not here to listen to Members for an hour and a half. I appreciate the Minister of State being here and perhaps he can convey what I am about to say directly to the Minister when he speaks to him. It is about the emergency in Donegal, the west o…

Last week, the Dáil heard statements after the tragedy at Creeslough. Our fire services in Donegal were called to respond to that, as were fire services from across the Border. Over the years of road tragedies, and one example I am thinking of was in Inishowen, where eight people lost their lives in one incident, we called the fire service to respond. When there was a tragedy in my town of Buncrana where a family drowned on our pier, it was the fire services who were at the pier side. That is what we ask them to do…

Week after week, I have sought to bring to the attention of the Taoiseach and Minister a profound crisis for dozens of families in County Donegal. They are living in defective block homes that are not fit for human habitation. The Taoiseach and Minister must have seen some of the images on social media and on TG4 last night. These houses are not fit for human habitation. I appeal to them to either release the €15,000 to allow these homeowners to find alternative accommodation or allow modular high-quality housing t…

We all remember where we were when we first heard news of the tragedy in Creeslough. As the hours moved on, we started to hear indications that there was significant loss of life. Then the full horror was revealed. The nation and, obviously, the people of Donegal knew the number of people who had lost their lives, but then we heard their stories and we moved through the wakes and the funerals over one of the most solemn weeks I can ever remember. It was, however, deeply humbling because in the worst, most unimagina…

Fine Gael and the Tories are soulmates.

Despite angry protests from the Opposition and from homeowners who are in the Public Gallery today, the Government rammed through legislation last July on defective concrete block homes. The Government said it was doing this because it wanted to get on urgently with introducing a scheme that could work for the families. Today I put it to the Minister of State that some 500 home-owning families are stuck in stage 1. They cannot get access to financial supports. They are stuck in dangerous homes. In some cases these …

As the Minister is aware, every single fishing organisation in this State, in an unprecedented way, united together months ago. We have the producer organisations, the inshore sector, the islands fishermen, the aquaculture sector and even the flag organisations. They appealed for an emergency fund to help address the fuel crisis. When is the Minister going to introduce it?

The funding for the tie-up scheme comes from the Brexit adjustment reserve fund, not from the Exchequer. We have appealed to the Minister to explore both the Exchequer and the European Maritime and Fisheries Fund. There are resources in the fund that could be deployed here along with Exchequer funding. A package was announced in the budget to address the cost-of-living crisis and the energy crisis for a range of sectors, but not for that of fishing. The Minister has met these representatives at least twice if not t…

What I cannot understand is that the Minister has the Brexit adjustment reserve fund, which is money intended to compensate for the loss of quota. That is to be deployed to assist the industry with that separate issue. He again talked about how using the EMFF would mean using funding that is supposed to be there for other issues, but why is he not talking about Exchequer funding? France, Italy, Spain and Sweden - I am sure there are many other countries but these are the most prominent four - have all made interven…

I will return to a theme the Minister of State has heard me discuss in the past, namely, the scandal of Ireland's share of the fish in our exclusive economic zone. As the Minister of State is aware, we have an exclusive economic zone, as do all coastal countries, of 200 miles. It is estimated that we get approximately 15% to 20% of the fish in the waters of our exclusive economic zone, which are among the richest waters in the European Union. Outside of the Common Fisheries Policy, can Members imagine any self-resp…

We have a humanitarian crisis in Donegal and the west of Ireland. Families are living in homes that are crumbling around them. They are in dangerous homes this winter. However, one would not know it in this Government because not only is the Minister not here, he has two Ministers of State in his Department, but not a single one bothered to show up to listen to appeals from three democratically elected representatives of the people here tonight. We are united together to make the case for families in the west of Ir…

I appreciate the Minister of State is reading the response from the Department and Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage, Deputy Darragh O'Brien, but it is disappointing to hear it. Clearly, whoever wrote this, including the Minister, who signed off on it, does not understand what is happening in the counties we are talking about in the west. Right now, as we speak, people are living in homes that are not fit for human habitation. They do not have access to the €15,000 because they are not through sta…

Scoil Íosagáin in Buncrana is the largest primary school in County Donegal, with more than 750 pupils. For the past decade, it has been caught up in a myriad of bureaucratic issues. However, the most recent devastating news is that the planning permission has expired and it has to go back again and apply for it. That is another year lost. The school is not in good condition. It has black mould growing on classroom walls, leaking prefab roofs leaving puddles on floors, classroom walls being insulated with election p…

The Taoiseach will raise it with the Minister for Education.

The Taoiseach will raise the matter. I thank him.

We are tight for time.

I appeal to the Deputy to give way.