There were angry and tearful scenes in the Dáil gallery last night as Mica homeowners watched the second stage votes on the Defective Concrete Blocks Bill.
By the final vote, the Ceann Comhairle had ordered that the public gallery be cleared.
Mica and Pyrite homeowners were dealt a series of blows as TDs voted on amendments to the bill which would form the defective blocks scheme. The bill was eventually passed through the second stage by 74 votes to 69 and will now go to the Seanad.
Sinn Féin Cllr Jack Murray said: “It was extremely emotional as families banged the gallery windows in protest as they were shafted. Many reduced to tears.
“I know without doubt though – the people may have taken a blow today but the journey is far from over and the fight will continue. Donegal people are made of stronger stuff.”
After a sleepless night, PRO of the Mica Action Group Michael Doherty said he put pen to paper this morning and wrote: “We sat in the gallery, filled with anger and tears, watching every affected homeowner get sentenced and fined tens of thousands of euros for the rest of their lives, but no one could tell us what we done wrong.”
The group is calling on government TDs in Mica and Pyrite affected counties to explain why they voted with their parties: “Can you please explain what we did that you could sentence your own people to further torture,” they asked.
Opposition TDs highlighted the flaws of the scheme yesterday, such as the omission of foundations, the lack of an option to downsize, and the out of date costings. These measures will leave families out by tens of thousands of euro, Deputy Pearse Doherty told the Dáil. One campaigner, he said, would have to get approximately €40,000 to rebuild her home.
Deputy Doherty said: “The reason the people in the Gallery travel and the reason people campaign outside the Houses is because they know those figures are real. Depending on the size of the house or a person’s circumstances, it can be even higher than €40,000 or €50,000 because there is not 100% redress. The SCSI costings exclude a huge number of costs that will be associated with rebuilding these families’ homes. The costings themselves are so far out of date that they need to be brought up to date. This is the core. If the Minister believed in his own guff that there is 100% redress up to €420,000 then he should support this amendment and give the people what they deserve, which is 100% redress.”
The dramatic events of yesterday evening saw Donegal Deputy Joe McHugh resign the Fine Gael party whip by voting against the scheme. He told the Dáil he would be voting against the bill “right the way through”.
McHugh said: “This is not over. It is not over for the people. We still have to figure out a way to try to make this scheme better for people. I am talking in particular about people who are of my generation or a little older who will find it hard to get a €30,000 or €40,000 loan upfront. Where will the money come from, even to pay for engineering fees at second stage or for demolition? There are many shortcomings and a lot of work still needs to be done on this. My decision to vote against this tonight is because we do not have enough time to put our heads together properly as a Parliament on it. I know the Minister’s motivation is to try to get this done before the summer. I called for that, as did everyone in this House, but this scheme falls short. We did not have the time.”
McHugh said his gut was telling him that “this second scheme is falling short for too many people and for constituents in my county in particular.”
McHugh’s move now leaves the coalition government without its majority. With the government short of its majority, Sinn Féin is considering tabling a motion of no confidence in the Government next week before the Dáil goes into recess.
