Members of the European Parliament have called for improved flexibility around the defective concrete blocks grant scheme.
A delegation of MEPs from Spain, Estonia and Latvia have been in Ireland since Monday, to conduct a "fact finding mission" on the issue of Mica.
All are members of the European Parliament's Committee on Petitions, and their decision to travel here was as a result of petitions that they received from Ireland.
Chair of the Committee Dolors Montserrat told reporters that their report will likely take three months, and will seek to ensure that the defective concrete block crisis will not happen again in the European Union.
Ms Montserrat said that homeowners expressed a range of concerns to her, including frustration with the current Defective Concrete Blocks Grant Scheme.
She said that many people were struggling with upfront costs, access to credit and other issues.
Many are also worried that the foundations of their houses are impacted by defective material.
The delegation was also joined by all four of Ireland's Midlands/North-West MEPs. All of them attended a meeting with the Minister for Housing Darragh O'Brien, this morning.
Luke Ming Flanagan said that the reason the Petitions Committee decided to travel to Ireland was due to a concern that Irish citizens were "not getting justice at home".
He argued that adequate market surveillance was not present in Ireland, to ensure a crisis like this did not arise again.
Mr Flanagan also insisted that the current redress scheme was not offering "100% redress" to affected homeowners.
Fine Gael's Maria Walsh said there was an acceptance that the current redress scheme needed adjustments, such as improved access to credit.
Referring to the feedback from homeowners, she added "all of that emotive narrative, that human lived experience will absolutely be brought back to my party and to the Taoiseach himself".
Sinn Féin's Chris McManus also said that the current redress scheme was "not 100%" in his view.
He also expressed concern that the current scheme is based on old building regulations, arguing that this should be changed.
Fine Gael's Colm Markey also said that there was a need to make zero interest rate loans available, allowing homeowners to "bridge the gap" between upfront costs and drawing down grants.
He said that the Minister for Housing was considering a proposal in that regard.
One of the homes visited by the MEPs in Donegal was that of Sharon Moss and her family in Letterkenny.
Her home has been sanctioned for demolition under the Government scheme, but she said the scheme is tough and is not working for them. The house has drastically deteriorated over the years and Ms Moss that it is literally falling to pieces and they need to move out.
She said that she really appreciated the delegation of MEPs visiting homes like hers to see the reality of what people are living in and the difficulties they are experiencing with the Government scheme.
She said the four members of the Petitions Committee who were accompanied by the four Irish MEPs representing the region, were all shocked by what they saw both inside and outside the detached home.
Outside, the building is riddled with cracks and there is even moss and other vegetation growing out of them. Around the doors and windows and the gable of the house, the blocks are cracked and crumbling and you can take fistfuls of material out with your hand.
Inside the house, the walls and ceilings of the kitchen and utility room are covered in mould.
Ms Moss said that she does not feel safe living in the house. The plan is that the family will move into a mobile home in their back garden but it is all taking time and their latest difficulty is getting a crane to lift the mobile home onto the site.
The scheme requires the home owner to pay money up front at various stages, she says and their next stage will cost €12,000, money they just do not have at the moment.
Ms Moss said that that is just the start and they will need money up front for other things as well as the lengthy process continues.
Her hope is that arising out of the MEPs visit, that the Government will listen to what they have to say, because, she says that they are not listening to the people on the ground.
