Tag Archives: Clare pyrite

CLARE TD Cathal Crowe declared himself “happy” when he spoke about the budget in the Dáil, but he did criticise the introduction of a levy on concrete products. “The concrete levy of 10% is something I have a number of concerns about. Just a few weeks ago we passed a massive redress package for home owners with defective mica and pyrite concrete blocks in their buildings. “It was right to do so. The detail of that will be stitched into regulations and brought forward in a redress scheme homeowners can apply for very soon – it is to be hoped before Christmas. “I do not know if it is fair to put a 10% levy on each person who tries to undertake a building project, be it with concrete blocks or liquid poured concrete, over the coming months. “To me it seems that they are being burdened with a levy that the suppliers and manufacturers of these blocks should pay …

LEGISLATION underpinning the revised scheme for homeowners with defective blocks has passed all stages in the Seanad and will be signed by the President. The Bill was debated in the upper house of the Oireachtas last week and while 69 amendments were tabled, the legislation went through largely unchanged. Senator Timmy Dooley told the chamber that despite the work done to date, concerns remain for many, including members of the Clare Pyrite Action Group. Paying tribute to its members, he described Dr Martina Cleary and Mary Hanley as “two formidable women who have worked hard to put together a comprehensive response” to the Bill. “One of the main issues I hear about from Clare homeowners concerns the damage threshold, he told the Seanad. “There is a belief that it will determine who will be accepted under the scheme. As yet, that damage threshold has not been determined. People are worried that when regulations on this are set, 90% of applicants …

A WARNING has been issued by the founder of the Clare Pyrite Action Group (CPAG) that defective blocks may be present in every county in Ireland. Addressing the Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing last week, Dr Martina Cleary urged members to address the possibility that problems may come to light in many other counties. “I will tell the eminent members of the committee that this problem may not yet be in their counties but it is coming,” she said. “We currently know of defective concrete blocks, or suspicions of same, in 12 counties along the western and eastern seaboards. It is likely a problem in every county. “The decisions the committee comes to and the recommendations it makes will be instrumental in influencing how this crisis plays out among members’ constituents, neighbours, friends and family. “They may have defective concrete blocks in their homes and do not realise it. Do not let the situation play out elsewhere as it did …

CLARE campaigners have voiced concern at the amount of time available to address an Oireachtas committee this Thursday afternoon on the bill underpinning the new defective concrete blocks grant. Last Tuesday, Housing Minister Darragh O’Brien confirmed that homeowners in Clare and Limerick are to be given access to the revised scheme. The legislation to activate the grant will come before the Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing on Thursday, via a mechanism that has been described as “accelerated scrutiny”. This falls short of full Pre-Legislative Scrutiny (PLS), which had been sought by homeowners’ groups including the Clare Pyrite Action Group (CPAG). However, it is seen by some as a compromise position, in that it reduces the likelihood of delays in passing the legislation before the summer recess. The Housing Committee will sit from 1pm to 8pm on Thursday to discuss the Remediation of Dwellings Damaged by Defective Concrete Blocks Bill 2022. The founder of the CPAG, Dr Martina Cleary, has been …

THE Minister for Housing has said that any changes to or extension of the existing defective concrete block scheme will require consideration in consultation with the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform and the Office of the Attorney General, writes Owen Ryan. Minister for Housing, Darragh O’Brien was responding to a parliamentary question from Deputy Joe Carey that asked when Clare will be incorporated into the defective concrete block scheme. Responding, Minister O’Brien said, “My department received correspondence from Clare County Council in October 2020, requesting the extension of the Defective Concrete Blocks Grant scheme to Clare. A comprehensive reply was subsequently issued to the Council in November 2020. “My department informed the council that before any extension of the scheme could be considered, the same rigorous analysis as that put in place prior to the rollout of the scheme to the counties of Donegal and Mayo would have to be undertaken. “Following further discussions between my Department and Clare …

CLARE’S Fine Gael TD has moved to scotch claims circulating online that he has not publicly backed the campaign for 100% redress for homeowners affected by pyrite and mica, writes Fiona McGarry. Deputy Joe Carey pointed out that, contrary to assertions by the Mica Action Group in a number of social media posts, he supports 100% redress. He said he has “consistently articulated that position publicly and in representations to Minister O’Brien”. During Minister Darragh O’Brien’s visit to Clare at the end of last month, Deputy Carey was asked specifically whether he supports increasing the level of grant support available under the Defective Concrete Blocks Scheme from 90 to 100%. “I have advocated to Minister O’Brien the need for a 100% redress scheme across the board,” he told the Clare media. “I don’t think it’s right at homeowners, through no fault of their own, should have to bear the costs of associated with pyrite and the follow-up from it. “I’ve …