Tag Archives: Mary Hanley

PYRITE homeowners in Clare will have to wait another five weeks before they can apply for grant support, according to the county’s Fianna Fáil TD.  Tempers flared at meeting in Ennis on Friday evening (June 16) and that update met with both scepticism and anger. Several homeowners challenged Deputy Cathal Crowe over what they see as previous broken promises and missed deadlines in their three-year campaign. While deadlines for ministerial sign-off  on the new grant, slipped on June 1 and 14, several homeowners angrily recalled Minister Darragh O’Brien’s visit to Clare in August 2021, and the promise of support “within a matter of weeks”.  Deputy Crowe assured homeowners that despite a last-minute delay, over concerns in Donegal – one of the three other counties covered by the grant – they would be able to make applications “five weeks from now”.  Deputy Violet Anne Wynne, who was the only other Oireachtas member present, was sharply critical of the delay saying that …

THE vice-chairperson of the Clare Pyrite Action Group (CPAG) has urged people to stop suffering in silence if they have defective blocks in their homes.  Mary Hanley told a major conference hosted by the Technological University of the Shannon (TUS) last week that people must open up and share their experiences. Mrs Hanley, who showed the Housing Minister her badly cracked home in Drumline last August, made her comments during a special session dealing with the mental and physical health impacts of living in a house with defective materials.  Referring to a presentation from TUS’s Dr Lorcan Byrne on the impact of housing insecurity and the importance of collective action, Mrs Hanley said that encouraging people to speak up remains a challenge. “Dealing with officialdom is one of the biggest stressors facing our group of homeowners,” she said. “A lot of us in Clare – and in Mayo and Donegal – would love to just go home and close the …

OVER 200 people marched through Ennis this afternoon (Saturday, January 29) in what was described as “the first of many” protests by homeowners with defective concrete blocks.  Members of Clare Pyrite Action Group (CPAG) were supported by campaigners from Donegal and Mayo – the only two counties currently covered by the Defective Concrete Blocks Grant Scheme; as well as homeowners from Limerick and Sligo. Speaking in the shadow of the O’Connell monument at The Height, campaigners from other counties pledged their support while homeowners here spoke of their frustration.  “The Minister for Housing visited my house on August 27 and he was such a lovely man,” Mary Hanley of CPAG told the crowd. “He was so pleasant, he was so nice and he was feeing so sorry for me. I said to him, ‘If this grant isn’t given soon, I’ll be six foot under’. His answer to me was, ‘Oh, not at all Mary no, a couple of weeks’. Now, …

HARSH criticism was levelled at the Taoiseach over his response to Clare TDs when they asked him about this county’s access to the defective blocks grant scheme. A meeting in Ennis last Friday (December 3), of those affected by pyrite, was told Deputies Joe Carey and Cathal Crowe had been “dismissed” and “insulted” by Micheál Martin. Vice-chair of the Clare Pyrite Action Group, Mary Hanley said the Taoiseach’s response to questions about the revised defective blocks grant scheme, which makes no mention of this county, was also an insult to homeowners here. The retired school principal from Drumline, who showed her home to Minister Darragh O’Brien in August, said: “Basically, the Taoiseach dismissed Joe and Cathal. He was rude. He didn’t give a continental about us. … He was so dismissive. It really insulted me. … It was an insult to you, Cathal and to Joe. “As far as I’m concerned, ye are doing as much as ye can. If …

THE first in-person meeting of the Clare Pyrite Action Group heard a heart-felt call for members to tell their stories publicly, and to prepare to support each other in the campaign for redress. Dr Martina Cleary, who founded the group over a year ago, addressed up to 80 people gathered at Treacy’s West County Hotel last Friday night (October 8) to ask questions of Clare’s Oireachtas members and other public representatives. She told the meeting that those whose homes have defective concrete blocks must be prepared “to take whatever measures are needed” to secure access to a grant scheme, and she urged those affected to join the campaign. The meeting was attended by Clare’s three senators and four of its five TDs, with apologies being sent by Deputy Michael McNamara. Councillors Joe Cooney, Ann Norton and Shane Talty were also present. At the outset, Dr Cleary told politicians that she was hoping for positive news on when Clare would secure …

FURTHER concerns have emerged over potential pyrite damage to a number of homes in the South East Clare area. It is understood that publicity around the issue of defective blocks and the visit of the Housing Minister to see a badly affected home in Drumline has prompted other homeowners to come forward. Following a number of calls to The Champion from concerned homeowners, Councillor Patrick O’Gorman confirmed that he has also been contacted. “There are definitely more people who now realise that their houses may be affected,” the Cratloe man said. “As recently as last weekend, I’ve met homeowners who believe there may be pyrite in their homes. In one case, a couple have decided they’re going to have to sleep at one end of their house, because of their fears over the condition of the other side of it. “It’s a very worrying situation and it’s only after the issue was highlighted in the media by the action group …

THE Minister for Housing took the opportunity, while visiting Clare, to reaffirm his commitment to pursuing those responsible for supplying defective building materials. At the home of Mary and Séamus Hanley in Drumline, several members of the Clare Pyrite Action Committee were present to hear what Minister Darragh O’Brien had to say. In the garden of the retired couple’s home, some members of the action group took the opportunity to question the minister directly. “The main culprits in all of this, of course, are the manufacturers of the blocks,” one Newmarket-on-Fergus man told the minister. “These are some of the biggest companies in Ireland, making massive profits. The Taoiseach made a statement a couple of weeks ago that he is going to speak to the Attorney General in relation to going after these companies, can you give us an update on that please?” In response, the minister said: “I made that statement too. Because if you look at the legislation …

A RETIRED Drumline couple have made an emotional appeal to the housing minister for funds to repair their severely cracked house, saying they don’t have a decade to wait. Pensioners Mary and Séamus Hanley showed Darragh O’Brien the devastating impact of pyrite when he visited their home last Friday. “Some of us, like myself, are on our pensions and we certainly don’t have forever to wait,” Mrs Hanley said. “I don’t have ten years to wait. I could be six foot under, at that stage, but I want my house replaced and repaired.” The retired school principal also told the minister of a number of former pupils in their 30s who have discovered pyrite in their homes. Mrs Hanley was also among three members of the Clare Pyrite Action Group to have a meeting with the minister in relation to an application by the local authority to extend access of the Defective Concrete Blocks Grant Scheme. The Hanley’s home was …