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Pringle, Flanagan say FF/FG haven’t shown the political will to provide 100% redress
- Updated: 22nd November 2024
Independent TD for Donegal, Thomas Pringle, and Independent MEP for Ireland Midlands North West, Luke ‘Ming’ Flanagan, said Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael have shown they do not have the political will to provide 100% redress for households affected by defective blocks, as they canvassed in Donegal on Thursday.
Deputy Pringle said: “We met with families on the doorsteps whose lives have been upended by a crisis that was not of their making. And Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael, over successive governments, have shown time and again that they will prioritise cost over safety, despite the fact that it was successive governments’ light-touch regulation that caused this.
“I have regularly raised this issue in the Dáil, yet each time, Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael would look at me as if the issue had been resolved by their most recent inadequate redress scheme. We know it has not. More importantly, affected families know it.
“Luke ‘Ming’ Flanagan has provided a strong, consistent voice in Europe for households affected by defective blocks and for all the people of the constituency. We have long worked closely together on this and many other issues, and I am proud to have his endorsement and to have him with me as we canvassed in Inishowen, where so many families have seen their lives put on hold because of the defective blocks crisis.
“I will continue to advocate for affected individuals and families. I have fully supported The People’s Document since campaigners launched it earlier this year. The people affected know what has to be done to provide a proper 100% redress scheme and the steps needed to ensure this does not happen again. They deserve a government that will listen to them,” he said.
Luke ‘Ming’ Flanagan said: “I am happy to be here in Donegal with Thomas, working to get what has been a strong independent voice back into Dáil Éireann. The issue of the day – and it is an issue for everyone – has been defective blocks, and that people’s homes are falling down around here because of government policy.
“The people are looking for a proper compensation scheme and Thomas has been fighting hard for them, the same way that he’s been fighting on behalf of all the people since he was elected to the Dáil. As fair as I’m concerned, Dáil Éireann wouldn’t be the same without him, and I’m asking people to get out on Friday, November 29th, and vote Thomas Pringle number one. We’ve had 100 years of Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael – we need change,” he said.
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