A DONEGAL family has revealed the agonising heartache of a paralysed woman living in a home affected by defective concrete blocks.
The severely disabled woman is in a house which witnesses say has visible internal cracks in walls that support her daily hoist system, the worried family has claimed.
She was left paralysed following a serious road traffic accident and now needs an overhead hoist system that is used every day to lift and transfer her safely around her home.
The paralysed crash victim’s family has revealed their defective block horror.
They are now highlighting concerns that the property – which has been assessed under the defective concrete block (DFB) scheme – has received a recommendation only for external wall remediation.
Their case has been highlighted in Dail Eireann by Donegal TD Charles Ward, who promised households affected by DFB to fight on their behalf in his successful 2024 General Election campaign.
Deputy Ward has been told that the family cannot access the full technical report on the affected property unless an appeal is submitted.
Deputy Charles Ward.
A spokesperson for deputy Ward added: “They also being told that an appeal may affect access to a revised assessment standard.
“This is a family caring for a paralysed woman and they are being asked to accept structural safety decision without seeing the full engineering report despite visible internal cracking.
“Deputy Ward has raised serious concerns in the Dáil over what he described as a lack of transparency and coherence in the Defective Concrete Blocks Scheme.
“This case involves a severely disabled woman who needs full-time care in a medically-adapted home that is under remediation assessment.
“The family is being asked to trust a structural safety decision about their home without being shown the full engineering report.
“The homeowner’s wife was left paralysed in a serious road traffic accident.
“The house was specifically rebuilt around her daily care needs, including a wet room and an overhead hoist system used every day to lift and transfer her safely between bed, bathroom and wheelchair.
“The property has been assessed under the defective concrete scheme with a recommendation for external wall remediation only.
“Deputy Ward raised serious questions about how the safety of such a home can be properly assessed when the internal structure is directly connected to essential medical supports and daily movement.
“The deputy also highlighted that the homeowner has been informed he cannot access the full technical report on his own property unless he submits an appeal, while also being told that an appeal may affect access to a revised assessment standard.
“He said this leaves the family in a position where they are expected to make significant decisions about structural safety without full sight of the evidence underpinning the State’s recommendation.
“The original correspondence from the homeowner, seen by the Deputy, describes confusion around what information is available, what is withheld, and how any informed decision can be made in those circumstances.”
The spokesperson added: “Deputy Ward said the case highlights a wider issue of transparency and process design within the scheme, particularly where homes are not ordinary buildings but essential care environments for vulnerable people.
“The Defective Concrete Blocks Scheme continues to affect thousands of homeowners across the country, many of whom remain in unsafe or deteriorating homes while awaiting remediation outcomes.”