by Evelyn Cullen
THE eight families living in Railway Park Estate in St. Johnston, who have been waiting three years for results of tests carried out on their defective concrete block homes, have been advised by a local councillor not to pay their rent.
At the Lifford-Stranorlar Municipal District meeting on Tuesday, Raphoe councillor Frank McBrearty raised the issue of the failure by Donegal County Council to make the results public, and said the tenants had been treated “horrendously”.
“These tests were carried out by public money and we, as elected members, are entitled to see the results,” he said.
Cllr McBrearty said that he believes the tenants are within their rights not to pay their rent, and that they should be compensated for rent they are paying for homes that are crumbling like dust around them.
“These families are stuck in limbo waiting,” he added.
“They’re paying their rent every week and living through a nightmare. And it’s not the only estate this is happening in, it’s happening in estates all around Donegal.”
Patsy Lafferty, director of Housing, Corporate and Cultural Services at Donegal County Council responded that they have made a number of submissions to the Department to get a scheme approved for these families, and that they are still waiting on a decision.
He said that they would share further details with members as soon as they have an update.
NOT SATISFIED
Cllr McBrearty was not satisfied and has not been satisfied with what he calls “rhetoric” from Council executives.
He claims that they are dragging their feet, hiding behind the response from the Department and that there is no source of funding to rebuild these houses.
“Donegal County Council are responsible for their own housing stock, not the Department,” he said.
Cllr Mc Brearty continued questioning Council Executives on why the results of these tests are not being made available, what alternative accommodation has been sourced for these families and what the Council’s programme for rebuilding those houses is.
Claire Burke, senior executive architect, replied that the council is on standby to provide accommodation for the families.
“Currently the council are carrying out ongoing work on these houses in an attempt to maintain them, with little success. These houses are in such a state of decay that maintenance is now futile. There is only one solution and that is full demolition,” he said.
Cllr McBrearty claims that the Council’s failure to disclose the test results, which were conducted by UK-based firm Petro Lab, is due to the nature of the findings.
“The Council knows that Mica is present in these homes but it’s not the cause of the structural defects. The real cause is reactive iron sulphate minerals,” he said.
This is part of an ongoing campaign by Cllr McBrearty to expose what he claims is the real cause of structural defects in Donegal homes, which is contrary to what the council claim.
“I’m the only councillor who is challenging the executives on this issue because the rest of them are not well enough informed,” claimed Cllr McBrearty.
‘NO APPETITE’
“It’s sad that there’s no appetite by elected members to discuss this issue properly. We all ran on the manifesto that we would do our upmost to help families suffering from defective concrete blocks but I am not seeing this enough.
“The forensic evidence is there in the test results about the real cause of the structural damage to Donegal homes and I will not stop until these tests are made public, wrongdoing is admitted and justice is achieved,” he said.
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