Sinn Féin President Mary Lou McDonald has called on Taoiseach Michéal Martin to make the Defective Concrete Blocks Grant Scheme 100% fully-funded.

Speaking in the Dáil this afternoon, Teachta McDonald said:

“Taoiseach, as you will know, thousands of families in Donegal and Mayo have been devastated by the presence of mica and pyrite in the structure of their homes.

“I met with many of the families last year. I would struggle to describe to you the level of stress and trauma these families have endured.

“Rather than making a 100% fully-funded scheme available to them, just like the Pyrite Remediation Scheme, the families in Donegal and Mayo were presented with a take-it-or-leave-it offer of 90% from the last government, with the expectation of assistance from financial institutions.

“The real contributions these families have to make towards the cost of restoration can be anything up to 50%. The banks are nowhere to be seen.

“Taoiseach, I am urging you today to make the Defective Concrete Blocks Grant Scheme a 100% funded scheme. It is the very least these families in Donegal and Mayo deserve.”