A FRESH call has been made by the Mica Action Group (MAG) for Housing Minister Darragh O’Brien to meet with defective concrete block affected homeowners in a public meeting.
In an open letter, the group stated it has been over a year since members requested a public meeting with Minister O’Brien to discuss concerns about the redress scheme.
More than one year ago, the Minister’s secretary replied to correspondence from MAG saying the Minister would be in Donegal soon, and would take the opportunity to meet directly with homeowners and officials engaged with the scheme. But this has not yet materialised.
A Department of Housing spokesperson said the Minister “has no plans” to visit the county.
“The Minister has no plans at this point to visit the county but will of course inform representative groups and other stakeholders as soon as he does.”
MAG wants the Minister to hear directly from affected homeowners on the issues they are facing with the enhanced defective concrete block scheme.
They said the importance of the Minister’s attendance at a public meeting is paramount, adding “homeowners deserve the respect of having their views and lived experience heard at first hand.”
Of particular concern for the lobby group is that a large number of homeowners are having the recommendations of their original chartered engineer downgraded and are “being assigned a cheaper, unscientific recommendation option”, which does not recommend a full, complete demolition.
As of April 11, 2024, 1,970 applications were submitted to the defective concrete block redress scheme, a figure the group
says the Minister views as a “success”.
However, MAG reports that just 43 homes have been completed in Donegal and 16 in Mayo.
The increase in the grant cap to €462,000 is being used to sugarcoat other failings of the scheme, the group believes.
They say that the reality is that the cap is irrelevant to people if they are unable to access the scheme in the first instance.
“The use of the cap as evidence of success of the scheme is disingenuous in light of the numbers of people who are unable to access the scheme in the first instant due to a myriad of reasons.”
The letter went on to suggest that if Minister O’Brien had plans to visit Donegal in the very near future, then that date would be in his diary.
“We ask that you demonstrate respect to homeowners by providing due notice of your visit to the county so that arrangements to meet you can be made.
“We ask that you do not cause additional hurt to already traumatised homeowners by visiting the county unannounced and meeting with officials and other small groups behind closed doors.
“Given your political status, MAG are sure you are in agreement that transparency and accountabiltiy are of paramount importance.”
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