I have a question for the Minister of the State at the Department of Housing, Planning and Local Government, Deputy English. As he well knows, at this stage the patience of homeowners in Donegal who are affected by mica defective concrete blocks is well run out. They have been waiting for a long time for the Government to come forward with a scheme. Will the Minister of State confirm it is the intention that a scheme will be brought before the Cabinet next Tuesday, bearing in mind that for two weeks after that the Dáil will be in recess? Will he also confirm that the scheme will ensure the full cost of the repair work will be carried out and that it will be broad enough to ensure those homeowners who want to start work can get on with it and be taken out of the misery and stress involved with having a house which continues to deteriorate, while waiting for a scheme to published and brought forward by the Government?

As the Deputy will be aware, it was confirmed in October that we would introduce a scheme. Our Department, in conjunction with the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform, has been working on it for the past few months. It was ready to bring to Cabinet a few times but different issues arose with Brexit and so on. We hope to bring it either to the next Cabinet meeting or the one after that to have it dealt with. We have discussed the proposed scheme with the residents affected, both in Donegal and in Mayo, on numerous occasions and all the issues about which they have concerns were brought to the table. The scheme should satisfy most people’s needs.