Tag Archives: General Scheme of the Remediation of Dwellings Damaged by the Use of Defective Concrete Blocks Bill

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 …

NINE and a half months after a visit to Clare to see the damage caused by pyrite, Minister Darragh O’Brien announced this county’s inclusion in an updated grant scheme.  To secure inclusion, exhaustive technical detail was provided by the Clare Pyrite Action Group (CPAG) and Clare County Council. In addition to an original report submitted last July, further testing was required as well as scientific proof that was likened by experts to ‘finding a needle in a haystack’. While the breakthrough has been welcomed, CPAG and many of Clare’s Oireachtas members are adamant that there is a way to go to secure a grant that is fit for purpose. Specific concerns relate to eligibility criteria as well as the costs that the scheme will not cover. Members of the CPAG protested outside the Dáil over the terms of the General Scheme of the Remediation of Dwellings Damaged by the Use of Defective Concrete Blocks Bill, 2022. Minister O’Brien outlined the …