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 9 of 11.
“How can families be expected to manage this while they have the lowest disposable income in the State? Defective concrete adds an unbearable cost to an already desperate cost-of-living crisis. Families are facing the impossible decision between sending their children to college or allocating the funds to rebuilding a structurally failing home. Should they choose to pay rent for an indefinite period or halt their education, healthcare and essential living costs? Should they face bankruptcy or remain stuck in an unsafe house? In Donegal we have more than a cost-of-living crisis. We have rising grocery prices and the significant injustice of neglect worsening an already ill-conceived scheme. Families in Donegal should not have to decide between their children’s education and a safe home.”
“We have no rail network, poor broadband and little access to employment outside tourism or seasonal work. The exclusion limits access to high-paying jobs and remote opportunities. This inequality significantly worsens the cost-of-living strain on people in my county. Rent is astronomical and supply minimal. The Taoiseach, in response to my question yesterday, pointed out there were 2,000 families at some stage in the defective concrete scheme, but as it is in progress where are these people to go? Where are they to rent? There is absolutely nowhere. Delays in payments means builders are taking longer than expected. Auxiliary grants that were granted may have been paid to homeowners who did not breach the cap but have long since run out, leaving homeowners to try to pay for a mortgage and pay rent.”
“I thank the Social Democrats for bringing forward this very important motion, which I fully support. There is no doubt skyrocketing grocery prices coupled with huge increases in other household costs, like energy and rent, are putting huge strain on families across the country. Right now families in Donegal find themselves caught in a pincer movement between the cost-of-living crisis and the defective concrete scandal. This is on top of long-standing geographic and infrastructural neglect. This is not anecdotal. The figures speak to structural disadvantage in Donegal. According to the CSO figures for 2021 Donegal had the lowest disposable income in Ireland at more than 20% below the national average. The county is severely disadvantaged in terms of workforce distribution. The clusters of high-income sectors are in urban areas.”
“I want to mention Elm Park, given the fact that this is a time-sensitive issue. Houses in Elm Park in Buncrana face immediate danger as they have been built on a floodplain and are affected by defective concrete. The only safe option for these residents is relocation. The home of one family home is in such a bad structural state that the family sees no alternative but to move ahead with the defective concrete scheme and start the remediation process of demolishing the house when their planning is granted at the end of July. We have been told by Donegal County Council, however, that if this person does that, this option of relocation for the rest of the residents will be withdrawn. Understanding the very real danger of rebuilding in Elm Park, relocation is a cheaper, safer and more sustainable option than rebuilding on a floodplain.”
“I do not have time to outline the list but I have a full, very detailed list I am happy to provide to the Taoiseach. I am asking him to listen to the homeowners. Will he iron out these issues with us and commit to creating a new, fairer scheme before the new term?”
“There is a failure to physically inspect the properties. There is no scheme in place for social housing. The treatment of individual properties like semi-detached houses being split is absolutely crazy. The second issue is the financial hardship and unfair costs caused by the scheme. Delayed payments are leading to builders actually walking off the sites, which then leaves the people renting houses forced to rent them longer. The people are left in limbo as they are waiting on builders to come back because the payments have not been processed. As well as this, there is inadequate support and very poor administration of the scheme. There are workforce and capacity issues. There are measurement and valuation problems, grievance and transparency failures, human and community impacts and damage to adjacent properties.”
“I ask the Taoiseach over the break to reflect on this and come back with a new, fairer scheme that addresses these issues and leaves absolutely no one behind. The first issue is the technical failures and the lack of scientific rigour. There has been no full technical review or timely IS 465 update. There has been a failure to provide interim guidance once the science was established. Homeowners were give the wrong options under the original scheme and not allowed to seek full demolition under new terms. There is a failure to consider whether ongoing damage, review decisions and the opinions of professional chartered engineers were often dismissed in favour of partial remediations. Homes have been left in limbo for years waiting on decisions. Technical data has often been ignored and disregarded.”
“Since becoming a TD, I have raised the defective concrete crisis every single week in this Chamber. I have stood here 23 times outlining the many issues with the Government's scheme, and have highlighted the lived experience of the impacted homeowners. My message has been consistent. The scheme is not working for the families. They are struggling. Every week I am standing here pleading with the Government to listen. Then I go home to Donegal and see first-hand the heartache as new cases come forward, while the defective concrete continues to be used to this day. It is unforgivable for the Government to leave the people in Donegal in such distress. I am once again using this opportunity before the end of term to outline some of the many issues with the scheme.”
“For example, when people can train online as a healthcare assistant at FETAC level 5. They can spend €1,800 on it, walk into a nursing home and get work experience and also get a job. Whereas, I trained for two years' part time to up my skills with Elspeth Vaughan in the ETB, one of the best training courses one could get. We did everything to a very high standard. When someone with this standard of qualification goes into a private nursing home, straight away he or she gets calls from the HSE with offers to join it and promises to give us this or that. I would not be moved. I worked for the minimum wage, but I would not be moved because I cared for the people. That is what is missing. The fact is that we no longer care for the people we look after. It is profit driven.”
“People were in sections and staff looked after a section. HIQA decided that was not right. It said we should open up the whole place and let people wander around. Staffing levels were at a bare minimum. We saw the fall rate and transfers to hospital go through the roof. The decision was made by a HIQA inspector as to what should happen, so what worked for the previous 15 or 16 years was discontinued and we went on a different route. It is unacceptable that residents are left in dangerous situations because of staff shortages, which is an everyday occurrence. One can see the faults when one has one's feet on the ground. HIQA must also take responsibility and look at the way things are done. It is fine to have 6 a.m. inspections, but let us put it where there is best practice.”
“If a member of staff is taking a resident, who is mobile, to bed, HIQA can watch every aspect of that in the hallway but as soon as the staff member takes the resident into his or her room and closes the door, HIQA is not allowed into the room. A HIQA inspector can only observe staff and residents in public doorways. He or she cannot go into a room and watch a member of staff put a resident to bed. That is wrong. We do not know if best practice is being taught. If a resident is being put in a hoist, if the door to the bedroom is closed then the HIQA inspector cannot see him or her because they are in the hallway. I will give another example while I am at it. The residential place where I was working is a high-security locked unit. It is a circular building with a walkway around it and rooms off the walkway.”
“For example, there is an estate in Mountain Top in Donegal where every house in it has defective concrete. There is a nursing home and an office block at the entrance into this lovely estate, which is no longer lovely as it is decaying, and both of them are defective. The families of the residents in the nursing home are stressed and worried, but there is no scheme in place for them. I will return to the subject of nursing homes. I worked in a nursing home up to my election. The staff in nursing homes are extremely caring people. There were a few bad people. Former staff members called me to say they feel uneasy at work and that they are being watched. HIQA can show up at 6 o'clock in the morning. It is meant to do that. However, HIQA is responsible here too.”
“Some of these families might have been forced to put their loved one into residential care because their home was unsafe due to defective concrete. I know this for a fact. Mould is always an issue in such a home and if someone living in it has respiratory problems, there is no choice as they have to be got out of the house to prolong their life. The defective concrete crisis has its tentacles in every aspect of daily life in Donegal. What the Government is not seeing on the ground is that for people impacted by this crisis, it is a constant presence in every aspect of our life, including in nursing homes and community centres. It goes right across the spectrum of every aspect of our lives. Crèches and schools are also affected. The Government underestimates just how much this crisis is a part of everyday life in Donegal.”
“We need to ensure that we have enough residential homes to cater for our ageing population and that these homes are well-staffed, comfortable and safe. I also highlight the fact that residential homes are not covered under the Government's defective concrete scheme. We know of a few residential homes in Donegal that are affected by defective concrete. This must be taken into account. Families with loved ones in a nursing home have more than enough on their plate and they should not have to worry whether the building a family member is residing in is safe or structurally sound. However, this is a worry being forced on many family members in Donegal, on top of the worry about whether their loved ones are being treated with the decency and respect they deserve.”
“The current service providers are only motivated by profit, which is evident in the constant cost-cutting measures that are used. We need serious investment into the creation of public nursing homes with community beds. I support this motion's call to ensure the national development plan includes a funded programme to develop new, public, long-term residential care, through community nursing homes, to meet the needs of our ageing population. We need to engage in long-term thinking and strategic planning. People cannot be expected to rely on their families any more to take care of them as they get older, given the number of young people who have been locked out of home ownership and forced to emigrate.”
“I was a healthcare worker prior to being elected. I know exactly what is happening on the ground. HIQA has an issue here. It is coming in and doing inspections after this is not good enough. HIQA coming in is like the old analogy of locking the stable door after the horse has bolted. We find ourselves in a ridiculous situation. We are revisiting this 30 years after previous investigations and TV programmes. No lessons have been learned and profit is allowed to be the driver. The average age of the population is now higher than it has ever been before. The number of people aged over 65 in Donegal has increased by 19% since 2016. We have to start properly and publicly investigating care of our growing population. It is clear we can no longer rely on private companies to deliver care.”
“That is how bad it is. If their clothes are damaged, the nursing home may not provide them with clothes. The person's relatives might be in another part of the country. That company in the documentary would not necessarily be just looking after old people. It could be a mix of people in the home. It is profit driven. We need to emphasise that we have lost humanity when profit comes before our elder citizens. Like my colleagues, I found the "Prime Time Investigates" programme extremely difficult to watch. In the documentary, we saw older people not being treated like humans. The documentary demonstrated consistent patterns of neglect and lack of care in nursing homes across the country. It is deeply concerning. We have been getting phone calls over the past few weeks about certain issues within private nursing homes all over the State.”
“I thank the Labour Party for putting forward this very important motion on nursing homes. I support it and its calls to prioritise equality and safety in the care of older people. Overhauling nursing homes is what we need to look at. As someone who has worked on the ground and worked for the company involved in the documentary, I am not surprised. To say that 80% of nursing homes are now in private hands and are profit driven is beyond a joke at this stage. I have worked in nursing homes and I can safely say that every aspect of those homes is profit driven. It goes from the food people are given to the deodorant and the soap they use. It is a shocking indictment of society that everyone has to go around their nursing home smelling the same and looking the same. If it comes to it, they have to buy clothes for people.”
“All children should have the opportunity to attend preschool should their families wish they do so. To do this, we must start actively addressing the capacity and accessibility issues we are seeing in preschools, especially in rural areas such as Donegal. I welcome the Minister of State, Deputy Moynihan's comments on developing an implementation plan before the end of the year on delivering the report's recommendations. The annual dilemma parents face every September is that we do not have enough places for our children. Children with special educational needs deserve the same certainty as all other children that they will be able to attend school. We need to strengthen the legal rights of children within the education system and ensure that every child has equal access to education.”
“I welcome the review of the EPSEN Act and many of its findings. Ensuring every child's educational needs are met is imperative. Education should be inclusive and responsive to the needs of all children, but this is not the case in many areas where children with special educational needs are unable to secure school places. I understand the Minister of State, Deputy Moynihan, is doing what he can to address the situation and I thank him for what he did for Little Angels in Letterkenny. We really appreciate that. Donegal mothers should never have had to resort to travelling to Dublin to sleep outside Leinster House in order to be heard. We need a proactive education system, not a reactive one. I am glad the review recognises this and I support its recommendation to legislate for the legal right of access to preschool.”
“I thank the Minister for her engagement on this matter. She has been proactive and committed to ensure that all the data and experiences are being taken into account. We appreciate this. In Donegal, we are grateful the Minister is listening to us. We are fighting our corner and are willing to listen. The Minister is taking all the situations into account. We appreciate and understand that. All the TDs in Donegal are united on this matter. We are disappointed and honestly shocked that the HSE decided no consideration be given to Letterkenny for the surgical hub, despite overwhelming data presented to it, including the geographic population, demographics, day case numbers and staffing numbers of the hospital. It is hard not to feel a bit despondent when faced with this.”
“I thank the Minister for outlining that. The location of the surgical hub has generated a lot of public interest. It has the potential to impact many people's lives across the north west. It is important we get it right. As I said to the Minister, this is not a Sligo versus Donegal issue. The north-west region alone is disadvantaged in many ways. We should not be forced to fight over squeezed resources. Ideally, to address the imbalance in healthcare and to meet the current demand, two surgical hubs should be established. All I can say, as someone who has worked on the ground in Donegal, is that the case for a surgical hub in Letterkenny is overwhelming. Donegal consultants and GPs who met with the Minister last week outlined this. I am asking her to take their experiences and all the data presented into account.”
“It will be no surprise to the Minister what I am asking her today. The decision of where to locate the surgical hub in the north west is an important one. Therefore, transparency in the decision-making process is vital. Will she outline, in detail, what factors will be considered when choosing the surgical hub for the north west?”
“It is time for the Government to wake up and take drastic action to allow us to continue to go on with our lives and help the people of Donegal.”
“It is an erosion of dignity, fundamental rights and a safe place to call home. We all deserve a place to call home and to have a sense of security, but the sense of security is being stripped away from the people of Donegal. This is cruel and unfair. There need to be accountability, transparency and immediate action. People are seeking to move on with and enjoy their lives and to be rid of the burden of defective concrete. It is exhausting for them to live this crisis 24-7, 365 days per year, year in, year out. Recent studies show the rates of depression, anxiety, post-traumatic stress disorder and suicidal ideation among people living in defective homes are comparable with those among disaster-stricken and displaced populations. This is incredibly concerning and warrants an emergency response in Donegal.”
“I know for a fact that today, there are houses in Donegal being built with defective concrete. We keep on continuing with this madness. We are supposed to be moving on from this crisis but nothing has changed and no lessons have been learned. We are dragged back into this crisis time and again. We are simply asking to move on. We are losing all hope of ever seeing an end to this. Impacted homeowners trust in the system and trust in the Government to do the right thing but this has been completely broken over the years. Families are pushed to the brink emotionally, mentally and financially as they navigate through a system that seems destined to fail them. The failure is not just about bricks and mortar; it is an erosion of trust over the years. It has been happening for almost 15 years now.”
“We need to building 1,400 homes a year over the next ten to 15 years to keep on top of the defective concrete crisis alone. On top of this, we need to be building 1,200 new homes a year just to sustain the current population in Donegal. That does not account for population growth over the next number of years. Effectively, we need to be building 2,600 homes a year in the north west. We need targeted measures to introduce this to meet the housing demand. We cannot continue to allow this crisis to wreak havoc on the county. The failure to enforce regulation means there is no guarantee that new builds or rebuilt homes are free from defective materials, allowing the vicious cycle to continue and leaving homeowners vulnerable to further trauma in the future.”
“Instead, they are forced to emigrate in the hope of a better life, opportunities and a bit of independence. Young people cannot be expected to live in their families homes well into adulthood. It is stunning that the independence of our young people is being severely damaged, along with family relationships. The Government's housing policy is driving young people away and is setting up a future generation for complete failure. We have an ageing population and we are doing absolutely nothing to actively address this. The construction of new homes in Donegal has nearly come to a standstill. On top of this, we are grappling with a defective concrete crisis. Last year, only 382 new builds were completed in Donegal. That is nowhere near what is needed.”
“I support this motion that calls to declare a national housing and infrastructure emergency and introduce time-bound emergency legislation that would enable local authorities and developers to accelerate the delivery of housing on already zoned, infrastructure-ready land. As I said last week, we cannot take the necessary steps to properly address this crisis until we call it what it is: a national emergency. The failure of the Government and previous Governments to deliver on housing is a failure of public policy. So many young people in my constituency of Donegal face an impossible situation as house prices soar and rents are unaffordable and unavailable. It is a disgrace they are unable to afford to live in the very towns and communities they grew up in.”
“Will the Taoiseach commit to reviewing this situation to ensure Scoil Mhuire Milford is given the opportunity to build a new school? It has the land and is ready to go.”
“I am sure the Taoiseach and the Minister for education are aware that Scoil Mhuire Milford in County Donegal is not fit for purpose. There are severe issues with the children's toilets in the current building. There is no green play area, denying children the opportunity for any meaningful physical activity. There is a severe lack of classroom space and, as a result, teachers are forced to teach in corridors and store rooms. There is a severe safety issue with the road, with the front gate opening out onto it. Many children have had near-misses. No form of refurbishment can address these issues. The school is simply too old. A new school building is required to ensure the children in Milford are able to receive a proper education and to develop in a safe environment.”
“Will it be published before the summer recess? Will the Tánaiste commit to ensuring that it is passed as soon as possible?”
“Two weeks ago, the Government approved legislation to amend the defective concrete scheme to allow for retrospective payments, extend the timeframes and include new provisions for vulnerable families. I voiced my opposition to the fixing of a cut-off date of 29 March 2024 for the increased scheme cap and the updated grant rate, as I believe it is extremely unfair and will leave a number of families behind. I hope this can be considered when the Government is drafting the Bill. The Bill is well overdue. Impacted homeowners are desperately waiting for its implementation. I cannot stress the urgency of this enough. I get calls every day from distressed families wondering when the legislation will come in so that they can pay their bills and move forward in life. When will the legislation be published?”
“Many wheelchair users in Donegal are, shamefully, isolated and left in their own homes due to a lack of accessible transport. We need a public transport system that works for everyone and leaves no one behind. This is what the Government should focus on.”
“There are only 20 or 30 throughout the county. People are standing at signs that say, "Bus", the rain is coming down on them and they have no shelter. It is like something from the 1970s. We need to upgrade our infrastructure to facilitate those who use public transport the most: young people, older people and people with disabilities. From talking to members of the Irish Wheelchair Association recently, and to my constituents, it is clear that people with disabilities find public transport inaccessible and unreliable in Donegal. Our transport services do not cater for those with disability despite the fact these people rely so heavily on public transport. It is a disgrace that in this day and age these people are being left behind.”
“We need to develop frequent, reliable and accessible transport that will ensure people in rural Ireland would not have to rely so heavily on cars. The Bus Éireann service between Donegal town, Dublin and Letterkenny is a service I use. These routes are often not reliable, with the bus sometimes not turning up because it has broken down. These routes can often be overcrowded, particularly in the summer months when people use that service as a mode of transport to get to the airport. Typically, older people can be left stranded at the side the road because they have gone into the bus station to book the tickets. As they have not done it online, they cannot access the bus and they are left stranded at the side of the road. We need to focus on providing more transport infrastructure in Donegal such as bus shelters. We have very few shelters.”
“There is always a higher risk of accidents when more cars are on the roads, so relying on cars as the only mode of transport, as we do in Donegal, is very dangerous. It also creates a higher risk of drink driving as people in rural areas often do not have access to alternative modes of transport home. This severely affects the night-time economy in Donegal. Across Donegal pubs, clubs and hotels are closing down because people are unable to travel to and from them in a safe manner. Rural pubs are often used as community gathering spaces and their decline has an effect on people's ability to socialise and connect with each other. We need to extend the night-time services to generate more business for the local night-time economies, for pubs, clubs and hotels.”
“Most of the people, therefore, are forced to rely on cars. This has negative impacts on the environment and contributes to the chronic traffic issues we currently have in parts of Donegal. I have said it before that Letterkenny is a disaster. The Polestar roundabout is often gridlocked. Emergency services are constantly struggling to reach Letterkenny Hospital. What used to be a five minute journey now takes 45 minutes and is putting lives at risk. This weekend traffic will be even heavier with the Donegal International Rally. It is expected that more than 70,000 people will attend. I take this opportunity to wish the participants in the Donegal International Rally the best of luck. I urge all those attending on the roads to look out for each other and be safe.”
“I thank my colleague, Deputy O'Gorman, and his staff for putting forward this motion on the public transport experience. I fully support the motion and its call for public transport that is affordable, accessible, convenient, connected and safe. In particular the motion seeks to ensure the full implementation of the Connecting Ireland rural bus programme. Developing transport in rural Ireland is very important as many transport services in rural parts of the country are poorly developed and unreliable. This is an issue that comes up time and again for my constituents in Donegal where people are unable to rely on public transport to get to where they need to go when they need to go there. We also have issues in Donegal where we have no real network, which means we have no alternative to buses.”
“The number of children impacted is rising every year, along with the number of people experiencing homelessness. Many families have been impacted due to the defective concrete crisis. It is clear from these figures the Government is failing. The only time in the past decade we saw a drop in the monthly homelessness figures was during the Covid lockdown measures. The Government needs to change tack and take action. We need an emergency Covid-level response and intervention in this crisis and we need it now.”
“Thousands of children across the country are growing up and spending their early and most formative years in hotel rooms and crowded living areas. Many of these children do not have access to a proper nutritional diet or a proper space to play. How can they be expected to grow and develop in these conditions? How do we hope to give them a fulfilling childhood when they are stuck in hotel rooms from age five to age 13? According to the 2022 census, the largest age group amongst the homeless population was infants to four-year-olds. That is 11.4% of the total homeless population. This is devastating and contradicts what many of us think homelessness looks like and who it impacts. Homelessness has been shown to have a negative effect on children's development, their participation in education and their run in life as they grow older.”
“On behalf of the 100% Redress Party I voice my strong support for the Raise the Roof campaign. We need to call the housing and homelessness crisis what it is; a national emergency. This is a national emergency and requires a national emergency response. This crisis has been going on for over a decade. Over ten years there has been a lack of housing, rising rents, crumbling homes and increased homelessness. House prices have risen by more than 130% in this time and rents have risen by more than 80%. We have seen record-breaking homelessness month after month. What kind of country do we live in when tens of thousands of people living here do not have a place to sleep at night or call their home? It is an absolute disgrace. More than 4,500 children are living in emergency accommodation right now as we speak.”
“The answer is greedy contractors who are inflating prices while vulnerable families are left with the burden to carry as they try to get through this scheme. I acknowledge the genuine impact this has had on the homeowners. The housing Minister engaged with us and I acknowledge that. Together we can create a scheme that is fair and leaves absolutely nobody behind. We need to listen to those who are affected. I am urging the Minister of State to speak to the Minister and reconsider the fixed date of 29 March 2024. I know many people who will be left behind if this date is used and I am sure this is not the Minister’s intention. He can fix this but he needs to get rid of that date.”
“It creates a two-tier system that punishes those who acted quickly and in good faith according to what the former housing Minister told them to do, often at great personal and financial risk. We have people who started their build in August 2023 and completed it in March 2024 before the cut-off date who are now not entitled. However, a neighbour who goes on 29 March is entitled to the 10% retrospective. To make matters worse, the doubling of timelines for rebuilds through no fault of the homeowners has not been acknowledged. The auxiliary grant support scheme will run out and people will be forced to pay rent and mortgages at the same time with money they simply do not have. Who gains from this?”
“I will start by thanking the housing Minister for bringing forward, in his first few months, a Bill that will address some of the changes needed to the defective concrete scheme. However, I have communicated to him there are a few issues that need changing. The decision, for example, to fix a cut-off date for the increased scheme cap and updated grant rate as 29 March 2024 is simply unfair. It flies in the face of what the previous Minister for housing, Deputy Darragh O’Brien, said when he publicly promised early movers would not be penalised. Only 43 homes were actually completed by 29 March 2024. That means the vast majority of families well into the process of rebuilding their lives have been unjustifiably excluded. This is unfair treatment. As well as this, splitting eligibility mid-project is complete madness.”
“Will the Taoiseach consider rolling out a travel assistance scheme nationally that responds to the needs of people with disabilities in their own localities? Will he commit to introducing a cost-of-disability payment in budget 2026?”
“I met members of the Irish Wheelchair Association outside the gates of Leinster House yesterday. Listening to them describe their experiences of trying to live a normal life in our country was truly heartbreaking. Wheelchair users face daily challenges in our cities and towns, in particular when dealing with public transport. It is a disgrace in this day and age that public transport is still so inaccessible and insufficient. This is particularly the case in rural Ireland, especially in Donegal where many wheelchair users are left isolated in their own homes due to a lack of accessible transport. It makes it impossible to work, socialise or be independent in any type of way. On top of this, 92% of the IWA's members said they incurred additional costs related to their disabilities.”
“I have highlighted here a few times now that changes urgently need to be made to the defective concrete block scheme. I acknowledge the engagement of the Minister for housing in this matter. The Minister, Deputy Browne's, visit to Donegal was a positive step. His commitment to amending the Bill to improve the scheme to reflect the necessary changes by I.S. 465 was reassuring to the impacted homeowners. I would be grateful if the Taoiseach would give me a timeline for both of these Bills, those being, to provide a 10% retrospective payment and the defective concrete Bill. When does the Taoiseach expect the rate and caps Bill to be enacted? When can homeowners expect to receive their retrospective payments? What is the timeline for drafting the legislation for the updated defective concrete scheme?”
“I thank the Tánaiste for engaging on this matter. The reality is that the defective concrete crisis still leaves many behind. Many community buildings throughout Donegal have been excluded from the scheme and classed as commercial buildings, despite the fact that they are not-for-profit. The scheme must be extended to include these buildings. We are faced with losing community centres, childcare centres, leisure centres and adult further education centres. If we do not address these issues, our community centres in Donegal will tumble to the ground around us within the next five years. I ask the Tánaiste to look into extending this scheme to include these important community buildings in Donegal.”
“It will be even harder for the people to access childcare in the future. I am seeking clarity on this matter and a constructive discussion on the next step to ensure these essential services remain available. The Government has a responsibility with regard to childcare and needs to step in to help to maintain a fantastic service which has been an integral part of the Raphoe community for more than 40 years. Will the Government ensure that funding is allocated to community playgroups in County Donegal that are affected by defective concrete in order that they are not forced to close?”