FRUSTATED Donegal homeowners have written to the Housing Minister about delays in decisions by the Defective Concrete Appeals Panel.
The panel was set up in 2024 to adjudicate on appeals in relation to the Enhanced Defective Concrete Blocks Grant Scheme, which provides financial support to homeowners whose home has been damaged by the use of defective concrete blocks during its construction.
If a homeowner is not happy with the level of financial support offered, they can appeal the decision.
However, in a letter to the Minister James Browne, a group of around 25 local homeowners have highlighted what they described as the ‘continued failure’ of the panel to issue determinations on ‘long-outstanding’ appeals and the ‘absence of any clear timeframe for decisions’.
The grant scheme is open to affected homeowners in counties Clare, Donegal, Limerick, Mayo and Sligo. Applications are made through the local authority in each area.
In their letter, the Donegal homeowners said some families have been waiting for more than two years ‘without resolution, meaningful updates, or basic communication’ in connection with their appeals.
“This level of delay is unacceptable. An appeals process that cannot deliver timely outcomes is not functioning as a genuine route to redress,” the letter states.
“The impact is severe and ongoing. Homeowners whose properties were downgraded remain unable to repair, sell, insure, or refinance their homes. These are real financial losses and personal hardships caused directly by the absence of decisions.
“It is particularly distressing that, in the few cases progressed to date, matters have been referred back to the Housing Agency for further IS465 review and testing. Once again placing families into the system that created this crisis and extending uncertainty for many more months.”
The homeowners’ letter claims they have ‘repeatedly attempted’ to engage with the chair of the appeals panel by email and by post seeking basic information on the status of their appeals.
“Those communications have been ignored time and time again.
“The absence of any response or acknowledgement has deepened distress and undermined confidence in the fairness and credibility of the entire process.
“We cannot accept that responsibility lies elsewhere because the Panel is described as ‘independent’.
“The Appeals Panel operates under statutory arrangements established by your Department; it remains ultimately accountable to you for its performance. Furthermore, homeowners are entitled to expect accountability, engagement, and timely outcomes from a structure created under your remit.”
The Department of Housing has been contacted and asked for a response to the homeowners’ letter.
