Report critical of defective blocks scheme presented to European Parliament

A European Parliament committee has called for changes to the Irish government’s defective blocks redress scheme following a fact-finding mission to Donegal last year.
The European Parliament's Committee on Petitions has published a draft report on the issue and has called for the new scheme for homeowners to be improved.
The draft report, which was presented to the European Parliament on Tuesday, has called for a widening of the scope of the scheme, a reduction of red tape, a speeding up of the progress of the process and involving financial institutions.
The enhanced scheme has been criticised by homeowners and campaigners for leaving many burdened with part of the cost of remediating their homes.
The draft report says that while the scheme is “very ambitious and comprehensive” it should “show more flexibility and take better account of the financial burden of all the costs”, including the cost for new foundations.
It has also called for arrangements to be put in place to support homeowners who are not in a position to advance some of the costs.
The draft report has called for the market surveillance system in Ireland to be enhanced and be “proactive and persuasive, rather than reactive”. It has also recommended better oversight of quarries, including annual inspections by experienced engineers.
There has been “severe health, financial and social consequences,” arising from the issue and there needs to be “a clearer picture when it comes to identifying and holding accountable the persons and entities responsible for this situation,” the report found.
It also called for Irish authorities to continue their efforts towards ensuring a thorough and transparent public enquiry and effective and timely legal proceedings.

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Irish MEP Luke ‘Ming’ Flanagan, who was a member of the fact-finding mission to Donegal, addressed the European Parliament on the draft report on Tuesday.
He said he agreed with the six recommendations made by the draft report.
Responding to the report, he said: “So it couldn’t be clearer. The state has let people down in a manner which is totally unacceptable,” he said.
“The government don’t however need to wait until the PETI committee has finalised this report. They can act now and do what they should have done a long time ago.
“Many thanks must be given to the staff on the PETI committee for their part in producing such a comprehensive and hard-hitting report. We’ve been working on this with them for three years. It’s great to finally get some results.”
The mission was led by Spanish MEP Dolors Montserrat, chair of the committee, who said she was very proud that the mission went ahead, adding that the report is "very positive" and sets out "exactly what is going on and the various solutions".
She said she believes the report will bring “a paradigm shift” and a solution for those affected by defective blocks.
Latvian MEP Tatjana Ždanoka, a member of the mission, told the committee hearing that the situation the fact-finding mission found "is a tragedy" and there is a need for improvement in market surveillance.
She said the mission "faced a lot of evidence of people shocked by what is happening”.
The mission included Irish MEPs Maria Walsh, Colm Markey and Chris MacManus as well as Luke Ming Flanagan.
Voting on the draft report will take place in the Committee on Petitions on March 18 and 19.