Tenants have suffered “unacceptable living conditions for far too long”
DEFECTIVE concrete home tenants look set to benefit from a new Government scheme that acknowledges the scale of the crisis.
From September, the Defective Concrete Blocks Social Housing Scheme is due to begin, it has been announced.
Campaigners like Donegal County Councillor Joy Beard of the 100% Redress Party have repeatedly called for a dedicated scheme to address the issue of social housing homes that are affected by defective concrete.
She has now warned that several issues have to be clarified – such as how tenants will be accommodated while homes are being rebuilt.
An image of a defective concrete home in Donegal. Image courtesy of Paul Dunlop.
But she warned: “The success of the scheme will depend on the detail.
“Tenants in social housing just like everyone else deserve to be in safe homes and we need to make sure the scheme work.
“I will continue to engage with the Department and push for any shortcomings that may need to be addressed when we see what the scheme entails.”
Cllr Beard is based in Inishowen where the defective concrete crisis began emerging in the 2000s.
Homes that were bought around 2004 started to crumble within years, leading to local residents’ formation in 2014 of the Mica Action Group.
Councillor Joy Beard.
She said: “We have been pushing for years to get a Social Housing Scheme in place. After all this time, it finally appears that we are making progress.
“This cannot come soon enough for the tenants who have been living in homes affected by defective concrete.
“Some of these families have endured unacceptable living conditions for far too long.”
She added: “We need to ensure the scheme will work in the way it should. Families have waited long enough and deserve certainty.
“The social housing scheme is expected to broadly mirror the private Defective Concrete Blocks Grant Scheme.
“But there are a number of important issues that must be addressed if that is to happen.
“If the scheme mirrors the private scheme, then there are still significant issues that need to be resolved.
“We know there are ongoing concerns around foundation replacement and ensuring that the grant rates properly reflect the true cost of remediation.
“These are matters that continue to affect private homeowners and they cannot simply be carried across without being addressed.”
Cllr Beard also stated that one of the biggest unanswered questions is how tenants will be accommodated while their homes are being demolished and rebuilt.
She said: “Perhaps the greatest concern is where tenants will live during the remediation process.
“To date, the Department of Housing has rejected repeated calls to provide dedicated temporary accommodation for affected families.
“That position is simply not sustainable if large numbers of homes are to be demolished and rebuilt.”
She added: “Donegal County Council has already had to spend significant sums carrying out temporary emergency repairs to keep tenants safe.
“These emergency works were never intended to be a permanent solution.
“They were necessary to make homes as safe as possible while we waited for a scheme.
“But everyone recognises they are only temporary measures that were put in place given due to the absence of a Social Housing Remediation Scheme.
“If it had of been announced years ago we may never have had to spend these vast amounts of money.
“I am led to believe these will be recouped in full when the Social Housing Remediation Scheme gets underway.”