Pyrite scheme start date branded as ‘big rush to go nowhere’ 

SIX months after the government agreed to open a grant scheme to Clare homeowners affected by pyrite, more than one thousand people in this county continue to live in defective homes. As the first cold snap of the winter bites, many face the prospect of sky-rocketing costs for heating, much of which will escape through the severe cracks in their homes. 

Despite what was described as a “positive” meeting, this week, between Council officials and members of Clare Pyrite Action Group (CPAG), there is no clarity on when exactly homeowners in this county will be able to apply for the grant. The current estimate is that the scheme will open in Q1 of next year, but no exact date has been set.

Dr Martina Cleary, Linda O’Callaghan and Geraldine Kennedy attended the meeting on Wednesday (December 7). “It was a very positive meeting,” Dr Cleary said, “but the Council doesn’t seem to know much more than the homeowners. The Department [of Housing, Local Government and Heritage] hasn’t yet properly addressed the resourcing and administration issue. The function of Action Group was to campaign to get access to the grant scheme. We have done that. It’s clear that the Department is not resourcing the local authority properly, but fighting for that is not CPAG’s job.”

The arrival of colder weather is also a major concern, Dr Cleary confirmed. “Our members have been discussing this, it is a worry,” she said.

“It’s noticeably colder in my home. You’re paying twice as much for heating which is going out through the walls and the warped windows. We are all very conscious of that. It’s like we’re living in an alternative reality. We are glad to have a house, It’s shelter, but it’s not a real house.

“You’re wondering how much time it has left and you see the damage getting worse by the day. Some people are asking me if they should repair their homes, but the concern is that if they do, will they meet the damage threshold to quality for the grant, because we don’t know that that is.”

Dr Cleary welcomed the fact that Council officials has been able to go through some basic guidelines for the scheme, but she voiced concern over the fact that they had been unable to clarify the exact opening date for applications from Clare or the damage threshold that a home will have to meet to qualify.

She said the lack of progress after the rush to pass legislation in the summer was “farcical”. “There was a big rush to go nowhere,” she said. “They forced a Bill into law in July and we’re now hearing that it could be April before we can apply for the grant. That’s a ten-month gap. In the meantime, we are still paying Local Property Tax (LPT). You can only get the exemption from that once the grant scheme commences.”

Dr Cleary added that while Council staff have been as helpful as they can, they appear to lack vital information that homeowners are looking for.

“It looks like they’re being kept in the dark on the actual regulations,” she said. “We have learned that Building Conditions Assessment reports will be done for each house. This will be reviewed by Council according to criterial which have not yet been revealed. This will then be forwarded to Housing Authority, who may decided that further testing is required.

“The Housing Authority will determine level of grant and there will be an appeal mechanism, but there are no details on that yet. If you are recommended for a grant, it goest back to Council for administration of the actual payment of grant. There are no details on the damage threshold and other details and, overall, you’re looking at a very long process.”

Dr Cleary also questioned the lack of targets on how many homes will be remediated each year. “When we asked those questions, it was clear that nobody has been thinking through this new scheme properly,” she said. “That’s a big concern given what we have had to do to get this far.”

In a letter co-signed in October, by other defective blocks action groups, angry homeowners told Housing Minister Darragh O’Brien of their frustration at being “trapped” in their unsafe homes. They also appealed to him to give a date for the opening of the new scheme.

Separately, the Council has confirmed that since the approved inclusion of County Clare properties onto the Defective Concrete Block Redress Scheme, it is continuing to engage with both the DHLGH and the Housing Agency.

After coming under major pressure from homeowners, government agreed last November to increase the grant to cover 100% of costs, up to a cap of €420,000. After visiting Clare in August of 2021, Minister for Housing, Darragh O’Brien announced in June of 2022 that the scheme would be opened to homeowners in Clare and Limerick. CPAG estimates that at least 1,000 homes in Clare are affected by pyrite.