THE government will lose its majority in the Dáil tonight, Independent.ie can reveal.
Former Fine Gael Secretary of State Joe McHugh has voted against his coalition colleagues and will resign from Fine Gael’s party whip tonight.
The Donegal TD does not support legislation pushed by the Dáil tonight aimed at compensating homeowners whose properties have been affected by the mica scandal.
“I am making this decision with a clear head,” he said, adding that he could “not vote in good conscience” for the bill.
The Defective Concrete Blocks Grant Scheme is being discussed in the Dáil tonight, but campaigners say it won’t offer the 100pc compensation they’ve been looking for.
They also say that the two-hour time slot for the debate was not enough.
While praising the work that Housing Secretary Darragh O’Brien has done in devising a compensation package, Mr McHugh said the lack of time to consider changes to the scheme was a major factor in his decision.
Speaking to Independent.ie, he said: “They don’t give it enough time to think about where it could be improved or improved. I know there will never be a perfect mica scheme, but this is a huge piece of legislation and it just isn’t given enough time.”
Parts of Mr McHugh’s constituency have been affected by the presence of mica in concrete blocks used in the construction of houses. As a result, many families have literally seen walls in their properties crumble.
Politicians in the region are under constant pressure from campaigners to demand changes to the government scheme, which will cost €2.7 billion.
They introduced about 80 amendments to the bill. One of the changes Mr McHugh wants is an acknowledgment that some homeowners may want to downsize during the rebuilding phase.
He added that the proposed scheme will still require some people to come up with tens of thousands of euros for reconstruction projects, but banks will not handle them.
“The ultimate arbiters of this settlement must be the people who have to live with this nightmare,” he said.
In May, Mr McHugh indicated that he plans to retire from politics in the next election. When he spoke, he said he would remain committed to achieving mica recovery during his remaining time in the Dáil.
His decision to vote against the government now is a major setback for the coalition of Fianna Fáil, Fine Gael and Green, which had only one majority.
Two months ago, the Green Party removed the party whip and suspended Patrick Costello and Neasa Hourigan from the parliamentary party for six months when they broke the rankings in a vote on the National Maternity Hospital project.
When asked if he accepted that he will face a similar sentence, Mr McMugh, a former whip chief of government, said he knows the consequences. of his decision. He plans to resign the party whip tonight.
This means the government benches are reduced to just 79 out of 159 TDs, not counting Ceann Comhairle. In theory, the opposition will consist of 80 TDs, putting the government in a very precarious position as Treasury Secretary Paschal Donohoe prepares a budget for September 27.
Mr McHugh said he has not yet considered whether he will support the government from the opposition benches, but noted that he took today’s decision with a heavy heart.
A number of independent TDs vote with the government on a case-by-case basis and can now ask for support before the budget.
The mica legislation was pushed through the Dáil on Wednesday night despite Mr McHugh’s loss, with Housing Secretary Darragh O’Brien pledging to address any anomalies and further needs at a later date.
But Sinn Féin’s finance spokesman, Pearse Doherty, who is from Donegal, told him the framework of his bill was as flawed as the blocks and aggregate used in thousands of homes across the country.
An attempt to include the restitution of foundations in the bill was thwarted when the minister declined to accept the amendment, citing concerns that a weakening substance known as pyrite is present and makes structures inherently unsafe – even if they are used. rebuilt.
But Mr O’Brien promised that if an independent scientific assessment found pyrite in foundations and infill, it would be included in the scheme. The government had to continue its efforts, and the review took place in parallel, he said.
There were also calls for the state to allow homeowners to downsize after their experience. Michael McNamara, a Clare Independent, asked the minister to explain how the state would save money by avoiding building a house smaller than the previous one. “The only difference it makes is how much the hapless homeowner has to increase construction costs.”
Richard O’Donoghue of Limerick said houses built in the 1980s and 1990s had special foundations because the roof was made of lighter wood at the time. Today there were heavier beams with a heavier roof structure, possibly going on the same foundations that were designed many years ago “to take a lighter house”. He warned: “Today you can’t build that lighthouse, because the regulations have changed.”
But the housing minister said specialists would look at the foundations of homes. “That work is underway by the NSA to test scientifically, should there be a problem with the foundations,” he said.
“Should there be a problem with this material (in the foundation), we would include it in the shell. But we have to base decisions like this on scientific evidence.
“We should scientifically test this material to find out if the problem is common, how common it is, and whether it affects the base. And I have clearly said that if that is the case, we will include foundations in the scheme.”
He added: “I think if we now try to introduce legislation that is not based on scientific facts, which we don’t know yet, it would be doing the system itself a disservice.”
The government needed certainty, and if pyrite were ubiquitous in foundations and infill, then that part of a building’s base structure would be included, he said. “We are adjusting the arrangement for that.”
Meanwhile, mica activists were ordered to leave the Dáil visitors’ gallery after loudly banging on windows and harassing ministers and TDs as the Mica bill passed on Wednesday evening.
Amid cries of “shame” and banging on the windows, Ceann Comhairle Seán Ó Fearghail asked the ushers to vacate the gallery as the final vote on the bill was held.
As the protesters left, someone was heard shouting, in clear reference to Agriculture Secretary Charlie McConalogue, “You’re done Charlie.”
Mr McHugh has voted against the government a total of six times, including twice by roll call at the request of Sinn Féin.
He confirmed that he had resigned the party whip, leaving the government without a majority in the Dáil.
In the end, the bill was passed by a vote of 74 to 69.
Earlier, Tánaiste Leo Varadkar told the Fine Gael parliamentary party that it was deeply regrettable for the government that Mr McHugh had not voted on the mica law, but that he believed he will continue to support the government in other matters and that the coalition will continue to have a working majority in the Dáil.