Tag Archives: Defective Concrete Blocks Grant Scheme

Pyrite Action Group still waiting on a decision six weeks after Housing Minister’s assurances ANGER at the delay in providing State support to Clare homeowners whose properties have seriously defective concrete blocks will be voiced at a meeting in Ennis on Friday. Members of the Clare Pyrite Action Group have invited all public representatives to attend the gathering at Treacy’s West County Hotel. The event will take place six weeks to the day that the Housing Minister assured homeowners that a decision on their access to The Defective Concrete Blocks Grant Scheme would be made “in a matter of weeks”. “Our homes will fall down around us if we’re waiting much longer,” said the group’s founder, Dr Martina Cleary. “On his visit to Clare on August 27, Minister Darragh O’Brien promised that an answer on whether County Clare would have access to the Defective Concrete Blocks Grant Scheme, would be “in a matter of weeks”. It is now six weeks …

THE founder of the Clare Pyrite Action Group has expressed grave concerns over what she sees as the recent ‘rebranding’ of the campaign to increase redress for affected homeowners. Dr Martina Cleary, whose membership includes more than 70 private homeowners, as well as those living in a number of local authority estates, has been working for over a year to secure access for Clare to the existing grant scheme. While Minister Darragh O’Brien indicated that a decision on Clare’s status will be made very soon, a parallel campaign to improve the Defective Concrete Blocks Grant Scheme is also drawing to a close with efforts stepping up to secure 100% redress. Against the backdrop of intensifying media and political speculation, Dr Cleary said she is now fearful that long-awaited improvements to the scheme, which currently only covers Mayo and Donegal, may not be extended to Clare. “I’m very concerned about the new PR spin that has been put on the 100% …

CLARE’S Sinn Féin TD has hit out at what she described as “the ongoing inaction by the government” in response to Clare homeowners affected by pyrite and mica. Deputy Violet Anne Wynne described the recent announcement that bringing Clare homeowners into the Defective Concrete Blocks Grant Scheme will require the advice of the Attorney General (AG) and the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform, as “a delaying tactic”. “The recent statement by Minister [Darragh] O’Brien is more of the same,” the Kilrush resident said. “[It’s] a delaying tactic in what is inevitable and has been rigorously proven as such. There are at least 90 homes and two estates affected by pyrite defective blocks, but the real number may indeed be much higher. The government’s stall tactics add insult to injury.” Deputy Wynne also repeated concerns over the burden of stress placed on those affected by defective materials including pyrite and mica. “Based on my engagement with the Clare Pyrite Action …

Expert report states Clare should have redress access ONE of Ireland’s leading experts on defective blockwork has found Clare’s pyrite problem to be similar to that in Mayo, where several hundred homes are affected. In a detailed technical report prepared for Clare County Council and submitted, since the end of July, to the Department of Housing, Simon Beale and Associates (SBA) said the nature of the blockwork problem here is very similar to that in Mayo. The 29-page report, released to The Champion under the Freedom of Information Act, repeatedly highlights the technical similarities between the situations in Clare and Mayo. The Defective Concrete Blocks Grant Scheme was opened in 2020 after a long-running campaign for redress by homeowners in Mayo and in Donegal, where the mineral mica is believed to be present in thousands of homes. Simon Beale, who is a recognised expert on defective blocks, and has assessed and tested over 150 homes in Mayo, compiled the report …

Clare Pyrite Group: Defective block providers and regulatory failures must be exposed CALLS for a public inquiry into damage caused by defective concrete blocks have been backed by the founder of the Clare Pyrite Action Group, following the completion of a position paper by affected homeowners in Donegal and Mayo. Dr Martina Cleary said that while the priority is to ensure homeowners are fully financially supported to rebuild their properties, those who produced the defective materials and those who failed to regulate the sector must be pursued. “There is a lot of concern about particular providers,” Dr Cleary said. “A public inquiry absolutely has to happen, but that should be after compensation and redress are provided. Redress must come first, but these companies cannot be allowed to get off the hook.” The call for a full public inquiry, as well as an apology to homeowners, is one of the recommendations of the position paper submitted last week to the Department …

AN URGENT meeting between the Tånaiste and Deputy Joe Carey is expected to take place, to discuss supports for homeowners affected by pyrite and mica.  The Clarecastle-based TD is one of three Fine Gael deputies to seek the meeting, after a briefing on Tuesday night from members of a Working Group set up to review the Defective Concrete Blocks Grant Scheme.  The group, who are seeking an increase in the grant from 90 to 100% of remediation costs, voiced alarm at comments from the Fine Gael leader this week on controlling the impact on public finances. Following the online briefing, Deputies Carey, Alan Dillon (Mayo) and Joe McHugh (Donegal) contacted Leo Varadkar to ask for a meeting. “In Clare, we are still trying to get access to the scheme,” Deputy Carey said. “I would expect that we will, but the scheme must be fit for purpose and provide the necessary finance. At the moment, the scheme doesn’t do that. As …

IT HAS emerged that problems with pyrite were brought to the attention of Clare County Council a number of years ago, by Deputy Joe Carey. The Fine Gael TD confirmed that he raised the matter in the Dáil in 2018 and then contacted the local authority. “I was advised by ministers to contact Clare County Council to put in train a submission, exactly what’s happening now,” he said. “Unfortunately, Clare County Council didn’t act on that representation, which I made repeatedly to them back then.” Correspondence, seen by The Champion, shows that Deputy Carey contacted the Council’s Chief Executive in April 2018, raising concerns after meeting a number of homeowners. He supplied the council with the reply to a Dáil question on the matter. In his emails, Deputy Carey outlined how, in the case of Limerick, their chief executive had supported an application to the Pyrite Remediation Scheme, which funds repairs to foundations and hardcore. He asked that efforts be …

STRICKEN homeowners affected by pyrite will have the opportunity on Friday (August 27) to ask the Housing Minister directly for support. Minister Darragh O’Brien is to meet members of the Clare Pyrite Action Group in Ennis before travelling to one of their homes to see first-hand the devastating impact of defective blocks. The Department of Housing is in receipt, since the end of July, of a detailed report compiled by the local authority to prove the presence of pyrite. The detailed technical document asks that the Defective Concrete Blocks Scheme be extended to Clare. Dr Martina Cleary, founder of the action group, will be among those to meet the minister. “I hope he’s listening and will take the situation seriously,” she said. “There is no excuse now to delay redress for homeowners here. The evidence is there. He had already visited and provided independent support for his own constituents and that’s more than he has done for us to-date. We’ve …