Charles Ward
Donegal · 100% RDR · Ireland
“I thank Deputy Kenny for bringing forward this motion. As a parent, I have seen the costs relating to sending children to school skyrocket over the past ten years. The situation is absolutely out of control.”
“Uniforms are supposed to represent equality, but they have become another financial burden on families who are already struggling with a cost-of-living crisis that has been going on for a very long time.”
“Those who were previously on particular school bus routes no longer have the option of using those routes. As a result, parents are forced to engage in long commutes and to cover the costs incurred in this regard. I welcome the motion.”
“She did not receive the substantial person-centred supports she desperately needed to rebuild her life. Support has to be extended beyond crisis intervention.”
“Domestic abuse is increasing and becoming more and more complex. I spoke in depth with Jessica Gallagher, who is clinical director of the Uplift Project. She works alongside women who are affected by domestic abuse, coercive control and sexual violence in Donegal. She said that demand for the service demonstrates the scale of unmet need.”
“I welcome Jennie's law. The publicly available register of judgments will be a life-saving resource, as people in relationships or considering relationships will be able to see whether people have histories of domestic violence convictions.”
The complete record
Every one of 544 lines we hold for Charles Ward, in date order, each linked to its source. Free to read, in full, without an account. Page 11 of 11.
“We must establish an independent market surveillance mechanism that will protect homeowners and the construction industry. This is something that has not been addressed. The Housing Commission's report should have been an opportunity to address this country's building failures and its weak building regulations. Instead, we had a Dublin-focused housing report that attempted to sweep the defective concrete crisis under the carpet and ignored thousands of impacted homeowners in Donegal, the west and all other counties throughout the country that are affected. We need help and we need it now.”
“The report refers to the expert panel on concrete blocks yet fails to explain the context of the reference or mention the defective block crisis at all. This is an insult to people who are affected by defective concrete blocks. For almost ten years, impacted homeowner groups have been calling for the removal of this opt-out facility. I know for a fact that defective blocks have been used in houses in Donegal since the publication of the report in 2017. This is despite the recommendations in the report and the constant ignoring of impacted homeowners' practical solutions to end this. We in the 100% Redress Party have made ourselves available to work with the Government and offer solutions that will work. The Government needs to take proactive steps to address the ongoing crisis and prevent it from ever happening again.”
“The crisis has been continuously ignored by the Government and State bodies but there is no way we will be able to tackle the housing crisis in Ireland without tackling the defective block crisis. There are more than 20,000 homes throughout the country currently affected. There are two crises in the one hand and one impacts the other. The only mention of this comes on page 183, when the Commission states the following: While adherence to building regulations has improved since the introduction of the Building Control (Amendment) Regulation 2014, the opt-out facility for single dwellings, as introduced by S.I. No. 365 of 2015, has been described as a ‘retrograde step’ and could lead to repeat building failures.”
“I wish the Minister nothing but the best in the years to come because what is ahead is the biggest crisis this country has ever seen when it comes to housing. When reading the Housing Commission report, I was shocked to find no mention of the defective concrete block crisis. The thousands of houses that have been impacted by this crisis are not mentioned once in the 250-page report. It is an absolute disgrace. Whether an oversight or an intentional omission, it is equally concerning. The Housing Commission claims to have studied the challenges of the housing system in detail but this could not be further from the truth. The commission chose to omit thousands of houses in this country that have been affected by defective concrete blocks.”
“Their families are so worried that they are in distress. They have nowhere to go. They need to know if they will get into Little Angels in September. Will the Taoiseach do something to help them? It should not be that families are left in such distress. These are most vulnerable families, in society and in Donegal.”
“I have been speaking to parents and teachers from Little Angels Special School in Letterkenny. From the day the first block was ever laid in the new building, we knew the school would be too small to fulfil future demands. Some of the temporary solutions to this issue could be to use two rooms in the old school and transport the newest modular buildings to the new building. Why did this project start when the Department already knew it would be too small? Three classrooms in a neighbouring school had to be utilised to accommodate the demand. According to The Irish Times , the numbers of children with autism in school systems has increased by 1.8% in the past three years but there has been no increase in places to reflect this. Now nine children with complex needs have to go to school in September.”
“They deserve a Government that values family over facades, and emphasises fairness and fiscal responsibility. They deserve accountability. This is not just a housing crisis; it is now a moral crisis. Until there is accountability at the highest level, the cycle of waste will continue for years and years to come. It is time for the Government to bridge the divide. There needs to be a more equal approach to funding. We must start with those who need help the most. That includes the families affected by defective concrete.”
“How can this Government justify unchecked spending on vanity projects while people in Donegal and the other counties are fighting to rebuild their lives? There is no doubt that there is a stark contrast between Dublin and Donegal in how public funds are allocated. At every level, the Government operates under a double standard. A teacher in this country can barely order a pencil without navigating an exhaustive procurement process, yet when it comes to hundreds of millions of taxpayers' money, there is absolutely no oversight, accountability or scrutiny. Homeowners who are also taxpayers are being held to an impossible standard, yet there is waste and mismanagement of money at the highest level of government which continues to go unchecked. Enough is enough. The people of Donegal and affected counties deserve a full redress scheme.”
“How did we get here? Nothing has changed in respect of defective concrete in the 14 years since this started. No meaningful market surveillance exists. No independent oversight is being conducted. Defective materials continue to reach the market and these counties continue to be affected. This scheme will again fail homeowners who have poured their life savings into rebuilding their homes because it does not cover foundations. It is scandalous. The scheme is riddled with waste. Homeowners are buried in bureaucracy and are required to document every single cent while the Government spends €490,000 replacing a 70 m wall outside a Dublin office, which is great work if you can get it. It is clear that the Government prioritises optics over ordinary people and political projects over real human suffering.”
“Twenty counties are currently affected by defective concrete. People are trapped in their homes. Public money is squandered on projects to serve the optics over the people. Despite overwhelming scientific evidence that iron sulphites, not mica, are causing homes to collapse, the Government persists in offering remediation when only full demolition will do. Even last week, families were subject to remediation offers that were half-measures ensuring future failures at taxpayers' expense. This is just a waste of public money. It is scandalous. Micheál Martin spoke yesterday about the generous redress scheme. While the scheme could be worth €50 billion on paper, it is still meaningless when institutional barriers will prevent thousands of homeowners from ever getting on the scheme. There is no scrutiny and the hypocrisy is staggering.”
“It is shocking to see the examples of overspending and waste in the public sector, as outlined in the motion. Public trust in Government decisions and Government spending is at an all-time low. It is sickening for people to watch the Government spend public money so wastefully. It is a slap in the face to families impacted by the defective concrete crisis that hundreds of thousands is being dished out on bike sheds, security huts and printers - you name it. I will highlight the staggering waste, inefficiency and fiscal irresponsibility of this Government's handling of the defective concrete crisis, not to mention that the very creation of the crisis in the first place is due to its complete failure to provide proper oversight. Thousands of families in County Donegal and beyond are affected.”
“Will the Taoiseach give a specific date for when the people currently on the scheme can avail of the 10%? We are talking about people who are on the scheme. This scheme works. People are phoning me - the majority of whom are on the scheme - crying because the 10% is enough to keep their debt at approximately €100,000. Can I get a date for when this 10% will be implemented?”
“The only way we can move forward is to work together. Impacted homeowners in Donegal and across the country are desperately waiting for changes. They are desperately waiting for the rates and the caps. The Taoiseach knows that I.S. 465 is not fit for purpose. It is under review. We are all waiting but we all have to work off the same facts and figures. Truth needs to be told. We cannot afford to get this wrong again. It has been wrong on two occasions. People's mental and physical health is suffering. I will ask the Taoiseach the question again and hope there is a genuine answer: will he work with me, the 100% Redress Party and the impacted homeowners to ensure the necessary changes are made? I am looking forward to a straight answer and dates.”
“This completion rate is not reflective of the tens of thousands affected. Access to the scheme is limited, for many reasons: people cannot afford to get on it, working capital, financial shortfalls and lack of accommodation in Donegal. The homeowners who are availing of the scheme are going into more than €100,000 of debt. Their kids cannot go to college because they are trying to put a roof over their heads. The amendment Bill the Government intends to bring in the spring has the potential to right many wrongs and could impact homeowners positively, but the Government has to work with the homeowners and with me to ensure this happens. In order to do this, we must face the reality and acknowledge the truth. The fact is that a minimum of 10,000 homes and 40,000 people in Donegal are impacted by this.”
“I asked the Taoiseach a question last Tuesday on the defective concrete scheme and his answer was completely disingenuous. He is trying to mislead the public into thinking the scheme is working and many people have benefited from it. That could not be further from the truth. He claims 450 homes are under construction while failing to acknowledge only 69 homes have been completed. There is a big difference between a commencement and a completion - you cannot live in a commencement. The Taoiseach knows this, but rather than state the facts he attempts to mislead the public. With 69 completions since 2022, the scheme is not working. The Taoiseach has failed. The 450 homes he referred to may not necessarily even be going into construction. Sixty-nine completions since 2022 is 69 families - not 450 families - who are in their homes.”
“The intensive care unit in Letterkenny also needs a major upgrade to ensure it is safe and working effectively. It is in serious need of a minor injuries unit to relieve the accident and emergency unit. If that comes to pass, we will see it change. Before being elected I was a healthcare worker and so I know what is going on on the ground. I am asking the Minister to prioritise this, come up to Donegal and look at it. During her term she can change this and she can turn Letterkenny around, which would probably be her greatest achievement.”
“It is outrageous that patients waiting on their first chemotherapy appointments in Letterkenny wait on average 22 days before they can begin. Last month patients in the accident and emergency department in Letterkenny University Hospital were forced to wait for 24 hours before they were seen. On many occasions appointments have been cancelled due to overcrowding in the hospital. More than 2,000 appointments were cancelled in 2024 and 800 have been cancelled this year alone, which is unacceptable. The people in Donegal deserve equal access to healthcare. Living in Donegal should not be a health risk, as it currently is. We must address the wait times in Letterkenny as a matter of urgency and improve our cancer care under the Minister's watch in this term.”
“Earlier this month, a report published by the European Commission showed that Ireland has the second highest rate of new cancer diagnoses in the EU. The report stated that people in the most deprived areas, such as the north west, faced an average of 43% higher risk of mortality within five years following a cancer diagnosis, due to limited healthcare resources. It has emerged this week that Letterkenny University Hospital has the worst cancer treatment wait times in the west and north west. It is an absolute disgrace that only 31% of newly diagnosed cancer patients in Letterkenny University Hospital begin their cancer treatment within the recommended time of 15 working days. This is compared to 62% in Galway, 76% in Sligo and 100% in Mayo who begin their treatment within the recommended timeframe.”
“I wish the Minister and the Minister of State success in their time going forward. We may be making progress in terms of healthcare outcomes in Ireland overall, but there is no doubt that there is an enormous disparity between the north west and the rest of the country when it comes to access to healthcare and healthcare outcomes. In Donegal we are years behind the rest of the country in terms of healthcare that we are able to provide. Letterkenny University Hospital is in dire need of an upgrade to equal funding that reflects the needs of my constituents. The service and capacity of the hospital have required significant improvement for years now but this call has been ignored time and time again.”
“The Government's defective blocks scheme has left many homeowners, particularly in Donegal, facing significant challenges. The scheme is fraught with delays, technical barriers and inadequate funding. Despite availing of the scheme, families are still drowning in debt and are expected to carry the financial burden relating to delays caused by a lack of contractors and insufficient processing by Donegal County Council. Despite thousands of applications having gone through, the scheme is not working. Work has only been completed on 69 houses have been completed in the past number of years. I welcome that the Remediation of Dwellings damaged by the Use of Defective Concrete Blocks (Amendment) Bill is listed in the Government's spring legislation programme. When will we see the text of this Bill?”
“We have thousands of homes in Donegal under construction, and a severe lack of contractors. Of course there will be delays. Instead of the council unnecessarily contributing to these delays it should be addressing the minor discrepancies and the final claim rather than delaying the whole process mid claim. I ask the Government to work with Donegal County Council to provide an extended timeline and ensure a swift process turnaround. We must do all we can to ensure that these people, who are traumatised and are victims, are not subject to more unnecessary hardship. I ask the Minister to show a bit of compassion for these impacted families.”
“Builders are understandably abandoning these sites due to unpredictable payments and families are being left in a difficult situation. These delays are completely out of control. Homeowners yet again are the ones expected to carry the financial burden. It is clear that application progress is completely inefficient and chronically slow. Excessive paperwork, portal outages, slow claim approvals, repeat submissions and an overwhelming amount of further information requests are slowing down this progress. The portal system lacks basic reminders for key deadlines, leaving homeowners vulnerable to missing extensions. We know now that the 65-week timescale is unrealistic for people on this scheme to complete their builds. We have seen how the Government's own construction projects, particularly the hospital, are taking a very long time.”
“I thank the Social Democrats for bringing forward this motion, which I support. I am disappointed that like the Labour Party motion last week, there is no mention of the defective concrete crisis in this motion. This is a crisis that impacts tens of thousands of people in County Donegal and 16 other counties. It is a crisis that every single party needs to address. Every day we discover more problems with the Government's defective concrete blocks scheme. We discovered this week that homeowners are being unfairly penalised by delays due to a lack of contractors and Donegal County Council. In many cases contractors are forced to take on other jobs due to cash flow issues because of the council's processing delays.”
“Some 26.2% have reported severe levels of anxiety, which is nearly four times higher than the Irish general population. The rates of these mental health issues are similar to, and in some cases even higher than, those seen following natural disasters, such as displaced populations, earthquakes, refugees and flooding. The independent scientific evidence confirms defective concrete homeowners are significantly psychologically stressed or, at worst, clinically traumatised. The Minister of State must address this current and very threatening ongoing situation for families living in such distressed states. The defective concrete crisis is one that affects more than bricks and mortar. It affects families, marriages and people's physical and mental health.”
“There is a severe mental health crisis in Donegal which only continues to get worse as the defective concrete crisis continues to impact families across our county. New scientific mental health research conducted by the University of Ulster surveyed 393 families living in defective concrete homes across Ireland. The findings were devastating but not surprising. The research found that more than a third of individuals have experienced thoughts of suicide after being affected by defective concrete. A total of 15.5% of the response meets the criteria of complex post-traumatic stress disorder, which is twice as high as the level among the general population in Ireland. Some 30.4% of respondents reported severe levels of depression, a rate nearly three times higher than that among the national population.”
“Will the Minister engage with the Department of housing, the OPW and Donegal County Council to explore viable alternative solutions for the affected homeowners of Elm Park in Buncrana including the option of providing grant funding for the purchase of alternative homes rather than rebuilding on a floodplain? Will he make a statement on the matter?”
“Does the OPW have a plan in place if a building is identified? What will it do to protect people using these buildings? In Letterkenny, for example, there is a leisure centre that serves thousands of people. If that building is identified, what action will it take to address this?”
“There are buildings with this in Donegal. I am asking exactly what testing procedures are being carried out. There are buildings affected throughout Donegal. There are leisure centres, creches and public buildings affected with this defective concrete. I ask the Minister of State to look into this and come to the realisation that 40% of creches in Donegal are affected. There are public buildings throughout the county, and it is going into other counties too.”
“Will the OPW ensure that buildings it is responsible for in construction projects in County Donegal are using blocks that are free from the deleterious materials, and has it checked existing buildings for the presence of these same materials?”
“Many are left to live in dangerous homes and face severe hardship while waiting for solutions. The wait drags on for years with no end in sight. I ask the Government to rethink the scheme and approach this in the programme for Government. Going forward, we must ensure immediate action is taken with technical reviews and confidence is restored in the Housing Agency which at the moment is not there. We must address the financial hardship many families face and we do by supporting all vulnerable groups that are in this. I remain ready to work with the Government to contribute practical and humane solutions to address this humanitarian crisis.”
“Side-by-side building has the potential to provide a solution at zero cost to the State and we give families, particularly where families have members with disabilities or older vulnerable people the chance to build on their land if they have the room to do so. The lack of working capital for homeowners means families are being forced into financial uncertainty. Many have to act as project managers. It is an impossible and unjust burden to put on anybody. A plan for bridging finance needs to be considered. People simply cannot access this scheme without having the funds to do so. The current grant scheme for defective concrete completely lacks alternatives and consistency. Families are given no alternative and no accommodation, just remediation programmes that do not work.”
“The previous Government ignored the lived reality of homeowners, ignored 82 home amendments that may have made the scheme workable and rejected pre-legislative scrutiny of the Bill pretending it was to do with patience. We waited a year. If this had gone through pre-legislative scrutiny, we would not be in the mess we are in currently. We are now left with a scheme that is completely unfit for purpose. I ask the current Government not to make the same mistake again. This crisis needs a practical, humane approach, such as side-by-side building where a homeowner has the space to do so. People need to get on with their lives. Bridging finance needs to be considered.”
“I welcome the programme for Government commitment to establishing a building standard regulatory authority to undertake a planned review of the defective concrete blocks scheme and to expand the scheme to other counties. However, the programme for Government does not go far enough in committing to a full 100% redress scheme for the families affected by the defective concrete crisis. I am extremely disappointed that the new programme for Government completely missed the opportunity to include genuine science-based facts. We continue to implement the current scheme, which does not and has never worked. The Government claims the scheme will evolve but it should never have had to evolve given that we knew the problems in the first place.”
“This is a terrible way to treat these people who have worked in this centre for well over ten years. This centre is a cornerstone of Donegal and Donegal town. Will the Government consider reversing this decision of moving the staff members from Donegal town to Letterkenny?”
“After 27 years of the Donegal Education Centre being located in Donegal town, all staff members are being forced to relocate to Letterkenny, which is more than an hour and a half away. This is a completely unnecessary decision, which has never been discussed or brought to a general meeting nor has anybody consulted with the voting members of Donegal Education Centre. The manner in which six members of staff have been treated by the management committee of this centre over the past year, since they first heard the rumours of relocation, is unacceptable. There has been a complete absence of empathy and a total lack of transparency on the part of the Government and local officials. The decision to transfer was made more than a year ago, but it was only announced a few weeks ago.”
“The current practice of demolishing and rebuilding a semi-detached home while the neighbour whose house is attached to that home remains there for years until they can afford to get onto the scheme is doomed to fail. This is the catastrophe that is going on in Donegal. It is an absolute joke. The normalisation of demolishing a semi-detached house while leaving the neighbouring house standing is unacceptable. I raised this previously and was told it was a one-off, an unfortunate incident. Unfortunate incidents are happening now in Donegal every week and every day.”
“What is more concerning is that the failure to enforce regulations means there is no guarantee a rebuilt home will be free of defective concrete, leaving homeowners vulnerable to enduring this trauma again in future. This crisis demands accountability, transparency and immediate action by the Government. I am here today because the landscape and the very fabric of society in Donegal have been destroyed by the failure of Governments to implement a proper redress scheme. The current scheme lacks cohesive and standardised assessments. Homes are being treated on an individual basis, leading to inconsistent remediation options that are not fit for purpose, building on top of Weetabix blocks and knowing we will be revisiting this in the future.”
“I thank the Labour Party for bringing forward this motion on housing, which I will support. I am disappointed, however, that there is no mention of homes affected by defective concrete. Once again, County Donegal is forgotten. The defective concrete crisis affects thousands of people throughout this island. It is a crisis that will continue to get worse, and we do not yet even know the full extent of it. Many more homes across more counties will discover in the years to come that they too are impacted. Many of the Government's solutions are not only temporary but doomed to fail, costing the Exchequer a second time while failing to address the root causes of the problem.”
“I ask the Government not to backtrack on its election promise on the occupied territories Bill. We cannot dilute or delay legislation any longer. We must respect international law. We must take a stand and hold Israel accountable for its war crimes. We must support the people of Palestine and their need. Now is the time. The Government must fulfil its promise and pass the occupied territories Bill.”
“I fully support the motion and its call to progress the occupied territories Bill and ban all trade with Israelis' illegal settlements in the occupied Palestinian territories. The Bill has been blocked for nearly seven years. In that time, tens of thousands of Palestinian lives have been lost. More than 2 million people have been forcibly displaced. Many Palestinians face life-changing injuries. Thousands of Palestinian children have been murdered and have died due to hunger, lack of shelter, medication and hospital facilities, and the complete destruction of their living areas. It is disgusting what has gone on. Israel is guilty of war crimes and it must be held accountable. Yet, we continue to trade with it. The illegal Israeli settlements make that country financially viable while the Palestinians starve to death. Words are not enough.”
“A Montessori school in Donegal was without power for over a week, which affected over 30 families who had no access to childcare. The parents were forced to take significant time off work. Some 12 days later, there are still premises in Donegal without electricity and without water. There is no doubt the impact of this storm will be felt for a very long time. I would like to take this opportunity to pay my respects to Kacper Dudek's family, a young man killed tragically in Donegal, in Raphoe, through this storm. His loss will be felt in his local community of Lifford and across the whole county. Our thoughts are with his loved ones at this sad time.”
“Donegal continues to be devastated by Storm Éowyn. Thousands have been left without electricity and water over the last week, many of whom are elderly, vulnerable and living in defective concrete homes. Over the next few weeks, I want the Government and this Chamber to realise the devastation that has happened in Donegal. Affected homeowners face huge safety risks living in homes that are defective. The red wind warning came too late. The Government needs to address health and safety as soon as possible to treat this humanitarian crisis that is going on with defective concrete homes. There needs to be far more and far better co-ordination between the Government and Donegal County Council. It is clear that the west and north west were impacted most due to lack of resources and failure to prepare. Many services were also severely impacted.”
“With a red weather warning coming, they cannot stay in their houses because they are structurally unsound. There are houses that have been remediated on top of Weetabix blocks. We are in a humanitarian crisis in Donegal. There are 10,000 families stuck in a loop waiting. The Taoiseach talks about concrete action. The concrete in Donegal is not even regulated. The Tánaiste spoke about building bridges. Why not build a bridge over the Swilly to relieve Letterkenny and stop it choking? That is what is going on. The A5 is the corridor to the north west. Let us help the A5 project and Letterkenny. Let us build a bridge over the Swilly. I am here for the people of Donegal. Donegal is the most important thing for me. The families need help. I am asking the Taoiseach now to prioritise Donegal over the next five years.”
“I congratulate the Taoiseach and his family on his appointment. For far too long, Donegal has been left behind. The waiting times in Letterkenny General Hospital this week are, on average, 24 hours. When going into Letterkenny by the Polestar roundabout, the emergency services cannot even enter because they get stuck. What used to be a five-minute journey now takes 45 minutes. The boats in Killybegs are tied up and the fish factories are silent. This never used to be the case but it is what is going on now. The Creeslough families are still waiting for a public inquiry. Ten people lost their lives and the families are still waiting on a public inquiry. The biggest humanitarian crisis of them all is the defective concrete crisis. Tonight, as we speak, there are families going to hotels.”