Tag Archives: pyrite

A MEETING will take place this Friday, May 6, between the Council and homeowners affected by pyrite, as the authority prepares “a further report” for the government.  It is now nine months since Clare County Council submitted its original report to Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage (DHLG) seeking access to the Defective Concrete Blocks Grant Scheme. Since then, the government has agreed to revise the scheme, currently only available in Mayo and Donegal. The DHLGH has also reverted to the Council with a series of detailed questions about the prevalence and impact of pyrite here. Among the items requested is proof of a causal link between the presence of pyrite and the cracking of properties. The Council sent an initial response before Christmas and is continuing to engage.  “The Council is currently preparing a further report for submission to the DHLGH which will be discussed at the meeting between the Clare Pyrite Action Group and Clare County Council …

RESEARCH by the Clare Pyrite Action Group (CPAG) shows that up to 18 housing estates in the county could have defective concrete blocks.  Dr Martina Cleary said that information received by the action group also suggests that up to eight public buildings could be affected. “We have had contact from people all over the county about suspected pyrite,” she said. “It is very important to say that this is suspected pyrite, as testing might not yet have been done in some cases. Our group has had contact and photos and videos sent in from people in every corner of Clare, and more people are coming forward all the time.” Clare County Council is still in a process of negotiation with the Department of Housing over a report submitted last July to make the case for inclusion in the Defective Concrete Blocks Grant Scheme. Meanwhile, the scheme itself is being revised after a government decision last November. While homeowners had hoped …

THE traumatic impact of living in a home with defective concrete blocks is to be explored in a two-day conference hosted by the Technological University of The Shannon (TUS) in May.  The international event entitled ‘Losing Your Home – ‘The Impact of Defective Concrete Blocks in Ireland’ will hear from a host of experts in the fields of engineering and geology as well as mental health and arts specialists.  The event is being organised by the founder of the Clare Pyrite Action Group (CPAG), Dr Martina Cleary and Dr Rita Scully of the Department of the Built Environment at TUS. “The issue of Defective Concrete Blocks, containing deleterious materials, particularly Pyrite, Mica and Reactive Sulphates is one currently impacting thousands of homeowners in the western seaboard counties of Ireland,” said the organisers. “As walls crack and homes crumble, the financial, legal and psychological consequences on very ordinary people is becoming a widening crisis, affecting all parts of our communities. “In …

DESPITE new proposals on redress for homeowners with defective concrete blocks, there is still no clarity on when Clare will gain access to the scheme, or on what terms. At the request of the Clare Pyrite Action Group (CPAG) answers have been sought by three Clare TDs. The responses they have received have been described by the group’s founder, Dr Martina Cleary as “completing ignoring the questions and the pyrite issue in Clare”. Earlier this month The Society of Chartered Surveyors Ireland (SCSI) published proposals for the remediation of eight different dwelling types, including those in estates one one-off houses. Options range from full demolition and rebuilding to partial repair options. Significantly, the SCSI proposed grant support based on building costs for 2022. Previously, homeowners raised concerns about the difficulty in meeting eligibility for the revised Defective Concrete Blocks Grant Scheme. They also voiced concerns that homeowners who did quality would be left with large shortfalls on their costs. Following …

NUMEROUS severe storms recently forced some residents of homes with pyrite to go to extreme lengths to secure their properties. The harsh weather conditions have also prompted fears that the condition of some houses has deteriorated even further in recent days.  Storm Eunice brought a Red weather warning for Clare recently and was followed by even more severe conditions during Storm Franklin the following weekend. In Kilksihen, Danny Moloney whose home has tested positive for pyrite, said the situation has been very frightening for himself and the three generations of his family who share the house. Mr Moloney’s home, which has been assessed by an expert engineer and had expensive core testing done to prove the presence of pyrite, has severe external and internal cracks.  “Things got so bad, at one stage last weekend, with the high wind, rain and hail that I had to get foam to block the wind coming in around the frame of the patio door,” …

It has been a long time since there was a parade in Ennis. The pandemic put paid to so many public celebrations. That’s why, on Saturday last when over 200 people took to the streets, there was a very brief sense that normal life was returning. There were people of all generations with banners and flags flying, grandparents gently steering small children along in the colourful crowd of marchers that set off, behind a Garda escort, from Áras Chontae an Chláir. But this parade was far from normal. There were no smiles as the gathering assembled at its focal point at The Height, in the shadow of The O’Connell Monument. Instead, stress and worry were clearly visible on the faces of children, parents and grandparents as they heard calls for action on their pyrite-damaged homes. They listened to stories of others whose homes, like theirs, have started to crack and crumble. They heard of the fear and insecurity for those …

THE founder the Clare Pyrite Action Group (CPAG) has been sharply critical of the Department of Housing over ongoing delays in access to the financial support scheme.  Further testing is currently being carried out “to satisfy the Department of the linkage between the deterioration of the blockwork and the confirmed presence of pyrite in the samples”, the Council has told The Champion. It follows queries raised by the Department in December, to which the authority responded shortly before Christmas.  Dr Martina Cleary said the Department, which is still the considering the report seeking access to the Defective Concrete Blocks Grant Scheme, is now asking the Council “to look for a needle in a haystack”. She also questioned why the authority did not test its own housing stock at the start of last year, in tandem with the testing of five private homes located across the county.  The Crusheen woman said both the expert engineer and the testing laboratories engaged by …

THE Housing Minister has been told that ongoing delays in supporting Clare homeowners affected by pyrite represents “an undeniable form of discrimination”. In an open letter to Minister Darragh O’Brien, the founder of Clare Pyrite Action Group (CPAG) said the group is “at a loss” to understand why technical evidence provided on the impact of defective materials is not being accepted by his department. The letter also refers to Minister O’Brien’s visit to Clare last August, during which he pledged that a decision would be made in a matter of weeks on the Council’s request for access to the Defective Concrete Blocks Grant Scheme.  The letter states that homeowner in this county are being subjected to “a prolonged and even calculated form of exclusion, compromising both our human and constitutional rights as Irish and European citizens”.  Concerns are also raised over the revised grant scheme, as outlined last November. The letter calls for the abolition of the proposed sliding scale …