I wish to raise with the Minister the comments made by An Tánaiste, Deputy Varadkar, yesterday, when he lectured the families of Donegal and the west of Ireland whose homes have been devastated by mica and pyrite. These families have campaigned long and hard for this Government to do what is fair and deliver 100% redress. The Tánaiste lectured those families, who are going through hell, about the burden that a fair and just scheme would place on taxpayers. He included a smart alec quip about it not being the Government's money. How dare he? The Tánaiste never gave such lectures to the families in Dublin and north Leinster who rightly and justly received 100% redress when their homes were severely impacted by pyrite.

The families in the west of Ireland have been treated like second-class citizens. They have been denied a fully-funded 100% redress scheme. This is completely unacceptable and leaves families who have done nothing wrong with massive bills that they cannot afford to pay. Such glib comments, attempting to turn public opinion, have a devastating impact on these families. It creates an anxiety and a fear that those leading this Government do not hear them and will not do the right thing. Minister, you have to do the right thing. We are talking about people whose homes are literally crumbling around them. These are families who worked hard, paid their taxes and saved hard to buy their homes. Now, through no fault of their own, they find themselves in a horrific situation where their houses are cracking and coming asunder around them.

The human toll of this ordeal has been heartbreaking. This has led to unbearable mental distress for families. I know families and people who have been close to emotional breakdown. These people are close to financial ruin. They say that their very lives have crumbled around them with their homes. For them, the dream has turned into a living nightmare. I live in Buncrana, the epicentre of this disaster in north Donegal. This scandal has left deep scars on our community. It is agonising to see neighbours, friends and family suffer in this way.

I do not think I have the words to convey to the Minister the trauma these families are going through, but I need him to listen to me here and now. This needs to be brought to an end. The families have made their final submission to the working group. The Minister must surely know the key asks the campaigners and families have made. The Government cannot keep standing idly by. The families demand a scheme that covers the full cost of rebuilding their homes. That is right and just. As Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform, the Minister has the power to bring incredible positive change to the lives of families who have been through this living hell. I am asking him on behalf of those families to do the right thing. Will he tell them today that the Government will deliver 100% redress?

I thank the Deputy for raising this issue. There is a deep appreciation within the Government of how serious this issue is and the life-changing nature of this issue for the families who are affected by mica in Donegal, Mayo and a number of other counties where the issue has now emerged. That is why the Government has put in place a process to try to bring about a resolution to this matter. I have listened to the heartfelt stories from the families who have impacted upon. I can only imagine what they are going through and the worry they are having to carry every single day. The main point I want to make is that everything is on the table. The Government has ruled out nothing in the context of what will be needed to support those families. As the Deputy is aware, a scheme is up and running, which was broadly welcomed when the details were announced in January of last year. The scheme opened for applications in June of last year and a significant number of applications have come in. However, the shortcomings of that scheme have also been highlighted. It is important to acknowledge that the scheme was put in place in good faith by the previous Government and was a genuine effort to address an issue which is so important for many thousands of families.

The work of the working group that was set up by the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage, Deputy Darragh O'Brien, is ongoing. As the Deputy rightly stated, the families impacted have made a submission as of last Friday to that working group. Earlier in the summer there was a request by the impacted householders for the work of the working group to be extended until the end of September, and that was agreed by the Minister. That is the timeline we are working to. The working group will now consider the submission from the householders who were affected and the Minister intends to accept the report from the working group by the end of this month, which essentially is at a point next week. He will then consider that, discuss it across Government and come to a view as to what we can do quickly to support those families. I, my Department and the whole of Government stand ready to assist in every way we can.

This is an issue the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine, Deputy McConalogue, has raised on many occasions at Cabinet and the Deputies from within the Government parties from the affected counties have been raising it consistently as well. I acknowledge that Deputy Mac Lochlainn and his colleagues have done the same. We are all on the same side here. We want to get an outcome that works for the householders who have been affected. To date, there has been an exemption for them from the local property tax, which is a very small measure, but it is an important symbol and a statement of support from the Government. Last night in the House, the Minister for Finance, Deputy Donohoe, gave a commitment that he will take up the issue with the banks to see what role they can play in supporting an overall resolution to this problem. Issues such as rent, storage costs and so on, which have been raised by all the families, are all on the table. We have a process in place. We are not standing idly by. We are committed to working with the impacted householders to address this. Of course, we need to have checks and balances and certain controls in place. I do not believe people should be passing judgment in advance as to the nature of those before hearing what the Government has to say. We have to come to a considered view once we have all the information on the table. I expect we will have that very shortly. We look forward to bringing forward a proposal that I expect will represent a significant enhancement of and improvement to the existing scheme for the impacted householders.

Last night, the families presented their submission to Deputies and Senators across the country. They have clearly demonstrated the solutions that will be required to turn around so many people's lives. Those families should not have had to do all that work. Families should not have to protest or bare their hearts and souls and take journalists from up and down the country to their homes. None of that should have been required. I hope the Tánaiste will take back what he said yesterday because it was completely wrong. The Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine is from Inishowen, which is also at the epicentre of this. He is a Fianna Fáil Minister, as are the Ministers for Public Expenditure and Reform, and Housing, Local Government and Heritage and, of course, the Taoiseach, Deputy Micheál Martin.

Collectively, they have the power to change what has been a nightmare into a moment of great hope in the weeks ahead. I appeal to the Minister to fully endorse that submission and deliver the change our families need along the west of Ireland.

I wish to reiterate that we are attaching the appropriate level of importance to this. We recognise the devastating consequences of living with mica, which too many families are experiencing at this time. This working group is chaired by the Secretary General of the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage. Once we have a completed working group report, my officials and I will stand ready to engage intensively to bring about a Government statement and decision, with the support of the Cabinet, on the next steps. This should not be a political football. We all want to support the families who have been impacted. The Deputy gave a broad welcome to the current scheme that was put in place at the beginning of last year. His party did not mention mica in its manifesto in the general election last year. Let us be straight and work together to bring about a resolution for the people we represent. That is what this Government is focused on. I believe the Deputy would expect us to make sure we have a full handle on the overall picture and to make a proper assessment of what exactly is at play. That work is being done and I expect to have the report next week. The Government will then act decisively and bring forward its proposals.