Tag Archives: mica

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 …

A “CONSTRUCTIVE” meeting was held on Friday (September 24) between the Tanaiste, Deputy Joe Carey and a number of other Fine Gael representatives in counties affected by pyrite and mica.  The urgent meeting with the Fine Gael leader Leo Varadkar was instigated by Deputies Carey, Joe McHugh and Alan Dillion over concerns that a review of the Defective Concrete Blocks Grant Scheme might not result in homeowner’s full costs being met. Welcoming the Tånasite’s assurance that the possibility of 100% redress remains on the table, Deputy Carey described the meeting as “very constructive”. “It was very constructive and this is a very important time for the campaign for a fit-for-purpose redress scheme which covers 100% of homeowners costs,” he said. “We are really getting down to the nitty gritty now and it’s important that we do all in our power to secure improvements [in the grant scheme] and 100% redress.” The Clarecastle man has also said he expects a meeting …

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 …

ONE of the country’s most vocal campaigners on defective concrete blocks has appealed to Clare homeowners to work with him for better redress. Paddy Diver joined a remote meeting of the Clare Pyrite Action Group on Friday, just hours after they spoke to Housing Minister Darragh O’Brien. Mr Diver from Donegal is one of up to 5,000 homeowners affected by mica. Like pyrite, mica causes defects that lead to cracking and crumbling of blocks. The Donegal activist was updated on the minister’s pledge to give a decision, in a matter of weeks, on the Council’s application for access to the Defective Concrete Blocks Grant Scheme. Mr Diver is a member of the working group looking for an increase in redress from 90 to 100% and one of the organisers of a protest in Dublin last June. “The light at the end of the tunnel is in all counties coming together,” he told the meeting. “In Donegal, we were kept on …

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 …

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 …

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 …

THE Housing Minister has assured Clare homeowners affected by pyrite that his department make a decision on giving them access to a redress scheme “within a matter of weeks”. Speaking on an official visit to the county today (Friday, August 27), Minister Darragh O’Brien said he wanted an application by the local authority for the extension of the Defective Concrete Blocks Scheme to Clare to be decided on without delay. Following a meeting in Ennis with Dr Martina Cleary and two other members of The Clare Pyrite Action Group, Minister O’Brien said: “I want to bring the submission part and the review of the submission part to a conclusion in a matter of weeks… Subject to the submission meeting the criteria that is set there, then we can move along quite quickly. It’s a serious issue for homeowners My priority is for homes, principal private residences that we can start to look at getting them remediated soon.” The minister also …