Pádraig Mac Lochlainn: Redress Scheme Spreads Injustice East
Pádraig Mac Lochlainn confronts the Minister over unequal redress under the pay-ride scheme, warning that 100% compensation for families in Dublin and North Leinster has not been matched in the West of Ireland and is now affecting people on the East Coast. He argues the scheme is unsustainable, benefits a narrow cohort, and leaves older homeowners and social housing tenants without solutions.
Main allegation
Pádraig Mac Lochlainn sets out a clear accusation: the pay-ride redress provides full compensation for about 3,000 families in Dublin and North Leinster while the West of Ireland received far less. He says that the injustice is widening as the same flawed design now creates unfair outcomes for people on the East Coast.
Design flaws and market impact
Mac Lochlainn explains that the scheme’s structure invited builders to inflate costs. "We told you that if you had a scheme like this, builders would bog their arms in and prices would be crazy and not sustainable," he says. He warns the result is a cohort of middle-aged people who can navigate and fund the scheme while most cannot.
Who is left behind
The TD highlights that older homeowners, people unable to move, and those relying on social housing have been excluded by the current approach. He insists there is no pathway for social housing tenants or older people who cannot relocate, deepening regional inequality.
Appeal to the Minister and next steps
Mac Lochlainn ends with a direct appeal to the Minister to listen and to correct the unequal treatment. He frames the issue as a growing injustice that requires immediate attention to prevent further harm across regions and age groups.
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The West of Ireland have endured the inequality, the injustice of 100% redress, rightly, rightly for 3,000 families in Dublin and North Leinster under the pay-ride scheme, and nothing like 100% redress in the West of Ireland. But now you're going to have people on the East Coast who are also victims of injustice. You're going to have people who live miles apart who are victims of injustice, who are treated unjustly, unfairly, unequally. This is utterly wrong, Minister. I appeal to you. I appeal to you to listen to us. We told you that if you had a scheme like this, builders would bog their arms in and prices would be crazy and not sustainable. So all you have now, and I can tell you what it is, is a cohort of people in their 40s and 50s who might be able to lend, access, project manage it, but most people can't make the scheme work. There's no scheme for social housing, no scheme for people who are older and can't move on. This is terribly wrong, and you're now spreading the inequality and injustice to people on the East Coast too. It's just getting worse.
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