Councillors from the 100% Redress Party have jointly called for urgent action following the publication of the MABS research report Between a Rock and a Hard Place, which examines the lived experience of families affected by defective concrete blocks who are also in mortgage arrears.
The councillors said the research is a crucial piece of evidence that validates what families across Donegal have been saying for years: that the defective concrete blocks crisis cannot be resolved without directly addressing the banking and mortgage stress that accompanies it.
“This research is hugely important it confirms that defective homes and mortgage arrears are not separate problems. They are intertwined, and families are being crushed between them.,” said Cllr Denis McGee
The MABS report highlights that many families are living in structurally defective, unsafe and unsellable homes while still being pursued by lenders as if they were ordinary mortgage arrears cases. Legal proceedings, repossession threats and prolonged financial pressure continue, despite the State’s acceptance that these homes are defective.
“One word that comes up repeatedly in this research, and in our daily conversations with families, is ‘trapped’,” said Cllr Joy Beard
“Families feel trapped in dangerous homes, trapped in debt they cannot resolve, and trapped in a system that has taken control of their lives through no fault of their own.”
The councillors said the research makes it clear that affected households must be recognised as vulnerable and treated accordingly by banks and non-bank lenders.
“It is simply unacceptable that families living in unsafe homes are not automatically treated as vulnerable borrowers,” said Chairperson of the Defective Blocks Committee Cllr Tomas Sean Devine.
“This research shows that banking behaviour is compounding trauma and prolonging the crisis for families who are already under extreme pressure.”
The report recommends an integrated, end-to-end response, including the creation of a dedicated Defective Concrete Block Remediation and Resolution Agency, with responsibility not only for remediation works but also for resolving mortgage arrears linked to defective homes and providing breathing space for affected families which the 100% Redress Party have been advocating for.
“This type of end-to-end approach was provided for pyrite-affected families and is now being developed under the Safety Remediation Defects Bill,” said Cllr Ali Farren.
“Families affected by defective concrete blocks should not be treated any differently.”
The councillors also welcomed the fact that the Chair of the Defective Concrete Blocks Committee Cllr Tomas Sean Devine has invited MABS to present the findings of this research at the next Defective Concrete Blocks Committee meeting on Thursday, March 12.
