Rose Conway-Walsh urges urgent 100% redress for pyrite victims
Rose Conway-Walsh spoke in support of the register bill addressing pyrite and MICA building defects, welcoming the legislation but criticising key provisions as inadequate. She called for stronger consumer redress and immediate action to protect homeowners in Mayo, Donegal, Clare and other affected counties.
Support for the bill and overall critique
She described the bill as welcome and long overdue, noting the register was first proposed in the 1970s and has existed since 2014. While backing the establishment of a register, she criticised the bill's two-year voluntary lead-in as unnecessary and questioned whether earlier, mandatory regulation would have prevented much of the current harm.
Concerns about the registration board and appointments
She warned the make-up of the registration board will determine its performance and insisted on a clear separation between board members and industry. She argued that the provision allowing the Minister to appoint committee members should be scrapped and that appointments should instead be made through the Public Appointment Service.
Redress scheme shortcomings and affordability
She said the bill does not provide adequate redress for consumers and pressed for a 100% redress scheme for affected homeowners. She warned the proposed scheme is not enhanced for many people and highlighted reports that costs of 20, 30, 40,000 to enter the scheme put it beyond reach for some families.
Local authority accountability and case example
She recounted an email from a homeowner whose Mayo County Council mortgage property sold in 2003 was later found to be pyrite, despite inspection by council engineers before purchase. She criticised the local authority response - to continue paying the mortgage - as insufficient and asked the Minister to investigate the case and for accountability from councils and suppliers.
Calls for urgent action and wider reform
She urged the Minister to learn from past failures and flagged a working group on building defects that has yet to report back, saying its analysis will expose the limitations of a minimalist regulatory approach. She called for greater investment in local authority building control, increased inspections of new builds and joined-up action between local and central government to end the decade-long anguish of affected homeowners.
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Thank you very much. Obviously, Minister, we're supporting the bill. It's welcome and it's long overdue piece of legislation. The register that this bill establishes was first proposed in the 70s. And I wondered when I saw this, if it actually happened in the 70s or the 80s and it wasn't on a voluntary basis, would it have saved the heartache and the agony and the stress that all of the homeowners that are affected by pyrite and MICA in Mayo, Donegal, Clare and some other counties, would that ever have happened if we had the proper regulation? And I don't think that it would. The bill provides for a two-year lead-in time before voluntary registration ends. I believe this is completely unnecessary. The register has been in existence since 2014, so we don't need another two years. The make-up of the board is also important, as that will determine the performance of outcome of this register. It must be a clear separation between the people on the board and the industry. Furthermore, the bill provides for the Minister to appoint committee members to the registration board. I believe this should be scrapped and the appointments should take place through the public appointment service. The success of the register will be measured by the impact it has on to protect and, unfortunately, the bill does not provide adequate redress for consumers. I would urge you, Minister, to learn from the past when considering the legislation. A working group was formed on building defects and it is supposed to be looking into the government failures to regulate the sector. We are still waiting for them to report back. That analysis, I have no doubt, will expose the inadequacy of this minimalist approach to regulation. Any analysis that shows that we need greater investment in building control of local authorities and the greater increase of inspection of new bills. Minister, I have an email here from somebody who told me today that they have a mortgage from Mayo County Council. They were sold a house from Mayo County Council in 2003 and that house is pyrite. And the response from the local authority is basically continue on paying your mortgage. That is not good enough. And I would ask you, Minister, I will give you the details and I would ask you to look at that and to investigate it. You know, it is sold by a local authority, the house. It was inspected by the Mayo County Council engineers prior to the purchase. We have to take responsibility. That is the problem here. There has been no accountability. That is why the homeowners in Mayo cannot sleep tonight. That is why they have suffered so much for the last decade. And I really want to commend all of the campaigners. Not all of them, unfortunately, are with us today. I really want to commend them for the fight they have put up. But they are weary and they are tired. And their families are tired. And they cannot take any more. And they need a 100% redress scheme. And they need no more than nonsense. I am sending out letters from Mayo County Council to 21 homeowners telling them they are not eligible. Looking for other bits of information. Changing the rules as you go along. You really have to put the homeowners front and centre off this to do the right thing. Because it is certainly not being done at the moment. And the insurance companies, the suppliers, the local authority, the government, nobody has been responsible. Please, I would ask you to take these people out of the anguish that they are going through. And that they have gone through for the last 10 years. They cannot continue on like this. We say we have a new enhanced redress scheme. It is not enhanced for many people. We cannot have a scheme that people cannot afford to get on to. We cannot. And when people are telling me it is going to cost them 20, 30, 40,000 to get on the scheme. And that it is beyond their reach. This scheme must be within the reach of all of the people that government have failed over the years. It really must and it must be put right now. And I would ask you to please make it a priority. It is a priority for us as a party. But government need to make it a priority. We need to do more than lip service. And there needs to be proper joined up thinking between the local authority and central government to get this done. But to put some urgency into it to finish the nightmare once and for all. Thank you so much. Thank you so much. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you for all. Thank you so much. Thank you very much. Thank you. 백신 to your doctor you canadia on any one day? Thank you. Thank you insemin Lindsay. Please will. Thank you.
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