As always, impím oraibh cloí leis na srianta ama, más é bhur dtoil é.

Tá an scannal ó thaobh cúiteamh do theaghlaigh atá cráite ag míoca agus pirít ag dul ar aghaidh go fóill. Chuala muid ar fad na scéalta ó na teaghlaigh agus tá sár-jab déanta acu ag cur a gcuid pointí trasna le linn an fheachtais seo. Ar an 15 Meitheamh, thacaigh an tAire agus an Rialtas le rún ó Shinn Féin a thabharfadh 100% cúiteamh do na daoine seo, ach tuigim ó bheith ag caint leo aréir nár bhuail an tAire leo go fóill agus nár thug sé cuairt ar na ceantair seo leis an scannal agus an briseadh croí a fheiceáil dó féin. Tugann siad an cuireadh don Aire é seo a dhéanamh anois.

I want to raise with the Minister the mica and pyrite redress scheme, which is currently the subject of discussion between various Departments, including the Minister's own Department. The families involved are living in homes that are literally crumbling around them. That is a result of light-touch regulation and no regulation during the Celtic tiger period. It is important to say again that none of this is the fault of those families that are affected. I am sure we can all agree in this House that their campaign has touched the hearts of many people throughout the State. They have shown great resolve in their campaign for justice and for 100% redress. They have laid out their case, opened up their hearts and told their own personal stories to the entire nation. Now they need the Government to step up for them. They need the Government to have their backs and to be in their corner, and that includes the Minister.

On 15 June, the Dáil unanimously voted for a motion which mandates the Government to deliver 100% redress. The Minister supported the motion and now he needs to deliver on it. I am aware from those involved and the people I spoke to last night that thus far, the Minister has not had the opportunity to meet with them or to visit the areas affected. The families would like to extend that opportunity to the Minister before he sits down at the Cabinet table to make a decision on this matter. On behalf of the families affected in Donegal and elsewhere, I ask the Minister if he will take up the offer from them to meet with those affected and, ideally, to visit the areas affected. They have said that they will meet with the Minister any time, anywhere, in person or online. The Minister should do that before he sits down to make a decision.

The other key issue at play is who will manage the scheme if it is agreed and is acceptable to those involved. The families are very clear on this. They want the Housing Agency to manage this from start to finish. That has numerous benefits which the Minister should be concerned about, not least the benefit of economies of scale, which will help deliver better value for money. The opposite of that is that it would leave those devastated, crushed families competing for materials, personnel and at the mercy of construction inflation. Just like with the pyrite resolution scheme in Leinster, the Housing Agency, with its proven expertise, should be tasked with the responsibility of project managing the restoration of the affected homes in partnership with the families, from the tendering of works, to the appointment of contractors, to ensuring quality and right through to providing a State guarantee for the works to the families.

Does the Minister believe that the Housing Agency should be responsible for managing the scheme, delivering better value for money, dealing with economies of scale and ensuring quality? Will he take up the offer the families have asked me to make to him to meet with them in person, preferably physically at the locations? None of us, even including those who represent the people who live in the counties most affected, can comprehend the scale of the problem until we hear what it means to the families living in those houses, until we reach into those blocks that crumble in our hands and talk to the children about how they are not having a normal childhood. That offer is being extended to the Minister today.

I thank Deputy Doherty for raising this immensely important issue. I want to begin by acknowledging the extraordinary trauma, anxiety and stress that all those who have been afflicted by the awful change in the building blocks of their homes have confronted and endured. I have been aware of this issue because I worked as a member of the previous Government to bring forward the scheme, which in light of the continuing challenges the families face, the Government now accepts needs to be strengthened. This is why I am working very closely on this matter with the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage, Deputy Darragh O'Brien, on a regular basis. The Government is committed to bringing forward a strengthened scheme to respond to the anguish, human need and to the basic need for the stability and safety of a family home. We all know how important that is to families all over the country. We are committed to bringing that forward. What we are working on at the moment is that we have to acknowledge that in addition to the huge need that Deputy Doherty and other Deputies have raised, including Deputy McHugh, and the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine, Deputy McConalogue, we are also aware that the cost of dealing with this issue is very significant. We are aware not just of the challenges of mica, but other challenges across the country in relation to how homes have been built and what their future is. As a Government we need to ensure that we are confident that we are dealing with this in a way that meets the needs that are being raised with us by those families directly, while being conscious of the cost involved in this and also dealing with the important point Deputy Doherty raised, which is how such a scheme is administered and how it is delivered not only in his community but potentially in other communities that are afflicted by this issue.

The Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage, Deputy Darragh O'Brien, the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform, Deputy Michael McGrath, and I are currently considering this issue. Of course, it is a challenge regarding how we can respond in a humane, compassionate and effective way, which we are committed to doing. We will be making this decision conscious of significant amounts of money being spent on this, which we acknowledge needs to happen. We must focus on ensuring that as this money is being spent, it is being done in a way that can deliver speed of execution, confidence about being able to meet the needs, and does also reflect on what we have learnt from how other schemes have been administered across the country, in particular for pyrite. This is an issue that we are working on at the moment. The Ministers, Deputy Darragh O'Brien and Deputy Michael McGrath, and I are going to continue with the work, which we are doing as quickly as we can. We want to get this right.

I will not have the opportunity to travel to Donegal as we move through this process, but I have met families who have been afflicted by this. I am aware of the horror when a home turns into a property that is falling down in front of your eyes. Of course, I am aware of the anxiety that is causing and the deep and profound stress. The Minister, Deputy Darragh O'Brien, has met the families involved on many occasions. He has concluded a process that began at the end of June and lasted all the way up until the end of September.

I know he has been in regular and direct contact with many of the families that are very active on this issue. We will of course be guided by the input they are giving, recognising the scale of the matter. We must also be conscious of the funding that will be involved in this while dealing with the execution and governance questions that Deputy Doherty has correctly raised.

The Minister mentioned learning the lessons from pyrite and looking at examples. The Housing Agency took on that project and it is the only agency that can do this properly. We should not force families at their wits' end to compete for developers' prices and tenders and all the rest. The Minister for Finance clearly must have a view on this.

The families are well aware of the Minister's busy schedule but they are also aware he is a key person, as Minister for Finance, for the scheme that could address and lift the burden from those families. Alternatively, it could leave many of them behind. They are appealing to meet the Minister any time and anywhere, whether it is online or in person. They want to meet him before he sits at the Cabinet table and makes this decision. It is a fair request from the families and I encourage the Minister to take up that offer.

As the Minister knows, these families are at their wits' end and they have won the hearts of this nation. These families expect the Government to have their back. They did not cause this problem, which arose because of light-touch or no regulation. This came from the Celtic tiger era and these homes are literally falling apart. Will the Minister please take up that offer and provide an answer on whether he will meet the families online or in person over the next number of days?

I thank the Deputy. The last thing I am concerned about is my schedule, whether it is busy or not. All that matters is how we as a Government can meet the needs being raised in the House by Deputy Doherty and others in a compassionate and fair way while also being conscious that the funding involved and the commitment from the Exchequer is very significant. The Ministers, Deputies Darragh O'Brien and Michael McGrath, and I are aware that as we deal with this matter, we may well have other challenges to which we must respond regarding the future of building within our country. We are aiming to get that balance right. I can assure Deputy Doherty that I am absolutely aware of the human need he referred to. The Government will do all it can to conclude a process that aims to respond to this issue.

Does that mean the Minister will not meet them? They asked me to ask the Minister if he would meet them.

Deputy Doherty-----

I thank the Minister but we are over the allocated time.

With respect, thousands of these families came to the streets of Dublin twice. The Minister should respond to the question of whether he will meet them. It is unfair on the families.